a conversation with Steven Harrington for FvF

"Elements of 80’s postmodernism and airbrushed playfulness
are blended with a simple ”feel good” California 60‘s vibe.
It’s hard not to smile when looking at his work."







I recently interviewed Steven Harrington for Freunde von Freunden.. The entire interview and photos are on the site, here. All photographs are by Ailine Liefeld.



The sun was already becoming intense when we met up with Steve Harrington at his studio near Atwater Village in Los Angeles. The exterior of his studio is painted in a matte black charcoal, a simple modern structure on a semi-residential, unremarkable street. Harrington wears many hats as an art director, a designer, and an artist. It’s often times hard to see where one division starts and where one ends, though. His passion and dedication to create is apparent, and definitely deserves the received attention and respect he has gotten for his work over the past years. Steven Harrington’s art work can be hyper-colorful, while seemingly drawing influences from the street artists on Venice Beach. Elements of 80’s postmodernism and airbrushed playfulness are blended with a simple ”feel good” California 60‘s vibe. It’s hard not to smile when looking at his work. His art has been shown in American and European galleries, and he has recently collaborated with Generic Surplus, designing a shoe along with a loose narrative based on the “crystal skulls.”

We traveled by car up into the hills of South Pasadena, a nearby suburb of Los Angeles to Steven’s home. While each winding turn took us higher, the views quickly became more epic with each curve. Steven’s home is tucked away from the road, a hidden retreat of sorts, filled with friends’ artwork. It’s the perfect home to watch a Californian sunset. On the way out, I found a quote handwritten by his girlfriend on a small piece of paper, taped to their mirror. It reminded me of the conversation that Steven and I just had, relating to the ideas of creation, death, along with “the crystal skulls.” It stated “Real authentic change emerges only from a place of deep focus and intention.” Well said. - David John

the studio of Steven Harrington

FvF is an international interview magazine that portrays people of diverse creative and cultural backgrounds in their homes or within their daily working environments. Our content aspires to present multifaceted personal perspectives including impressions of cities, various art scenes and international urban living.



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Brett Cody Rogers for FvF

"You just go in and out, you have to go in, and work, and then you turn your back on the work, you run out the door, to go pick him up at school, you don’t look back, you don’t think about what went wrong that day, or if you made something good or bad, or whatever, you just made stuff and you just deal with it later..." - Brett Cody Rogers

the kitchen: scones, orange juice, and California morning light

I recently interviewed L.A. artist Brett Cody Rogers for Berlin based Freunde von Freunden. Ailine Liefeld photographed Brett's home and studio, while Brett and I talked about his studio practice, and his early days assisting, including a very interesting story Matthew Barney's Cremaster 3. Read the full interview, and see all the photographs here, on FvF.

"We met with Brett Cody Rogers in his Los Angeles home, in a neighborhood called Los Feliz that borders on Griffith Park. Inside his 1927 home, Brett’s walls are covered with art works (including his son’s room), and he led us around his home, upstairs and downstairs, explaining the stories behind each work. His wife was just leaving for work as we sat down with coffee and scones in his kitchen. I first learned about Brett Cody Roger’s work at a store in Los Angeles called South Willard. Ryan Conder, the owner, installed one of Brett’s painted geometric canvas mobiles from the ceiling. His later works continue to suggest forms of architectural reference, and his interest in modernism, while he moves painting to photography. Over conversation, Brett explained how the birth of his son 4 years ago changed his studio practice, “taking all the crisis out of art making.”

- David John for Freunde von Freunden





"When my son was born, everything changed as far as my work goes…within a year, my grandfather died. My son was named Van after him, it was a really strange time for me. Pretty much everything changed, but I think for the better. I had to re-evaluate what I was doing, and I went through 2 years of making work in nothing but black and white, which prior to that it was very colorful. And then I started making photographs again. It was something I could make an image fairly quickly with, and so the means as with which I was working, I was working with cheaper materials, faster processes, and just by doing that, I got more of a handle on the content. Whereas before I was relying very heavily on color, to do all the leg work in the painting.

So when my son was born, the whole thing opened me up pretty greatly. I think the biggest thing is that having a kid, it takes all the crisis out of art making. You know when you have too much time to think about yourself and your own troubles in the studio, and you worry about everything, worry about making the wrong move, and if a painting goes wrong and it’s like the end of the world. I had all these existential crises before I had a son, and from the moment he was born, it took all that out of art making, and it made it more enjoyable to make stuff, because you just have less time. You just go in and out, you have to go in, and work, and then you turn your back on the work, you run out the door, to go pick him up at school, you don’t look back, you don’t think about what went wrong that day, or if you made something good or bad, or whatever, you just made stuff and you just deal with it later, which is really great.

Living Room: Brett Cody Roger's "Painterʼs Forms", 2011, C-print, brass frame

Entryway: drawing by Ricky Swallow in the entryway

I notice a lot of familiar artists in your home. Can you talk about some of the work that is here?

Brett: Sure, they are mostly friends’ works, given to us as gifts, or as trades. There are some of Ricky Swallow’s pieces, some ceramics, a bronze whale that he made, and he made this watercolor for my wife for her birthday, it’s of two dead fish, and there is another drawing by the entry way, and it’s a skull sitting on top of a tophat, with some barnacles next to it. This is from Lesley Vance from 2007, Jed Lind, Bari Ziperstein, Violet Hopkins, this one is from Bara (Hans-Peter) from Berlin, another German painter named Klaus Merkel. He was an early influence and mentor to me.



Go to Brett Cody Roger's site here.




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Wendy White on Freunde Von Freunden

I'm thrilled to be contributing to the Berlin based magazine, Freunde von Freunden for their 100th interview, featuring NY artist, Wendy White. FvF "portrays people of diverse creative and cultural backgrounds in their homes or within their daily working environments. " They have featured stunning video interviews with Joseph Dirand, and Karen and Christian Boros. Looking forward to working with FvF on some upcoming stories!

(Read the full interview here.)


"Wendy White took us to her to studio in Chinatown, and kindly gave us a tour around her neighborhood in New York City. It’s really the ideal place to think about her latest work. Glorious rambunctious color drives the works, with collapsing angular fonts being forced off the grid. It’s easy to get lost in the energy in her work. Some canvases sloped onto the floor, others spaciously separated.

Her work is a tale of the modern city, void of logic, overflowing with spray painted emotions. Ed Ruscha captured the Los Angeles notion of light and ease, while Wendy’s work is a reflection of her home on the East Coast in New York, the quickened sensations of life."

- David John

Wendy White is showing with Henning Strassburger at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz e.V. in Berlin, that opens January 26, 2012.

Interview: Oliver Kann, Frederik Frede
Text: David John
Photography: Fette Sans

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