The Watermill Center, an interdisciplinary laboratory for the arts and humanities located in Water Mill, NY, will host the second of it’s 2022 In Process series with an intimate look into the work of American sculptor Brian Block, Greek interdisciplinary artist Maria Louizou, and Polish choreographer Ola Maciejewska, on Friday, April 22.
“One of the joys of our Artist Residency Program is that it allows us to support both new and returning artists.” shares Elka Rifkin, Director of The Watermill Center. “Both Brian and Maria participated in our International Summer Program, which is centered on collaboration under Robert Wilson’s guidance. Now they return to The Center to focus on their personal creative practice. In Process is not only a chance for the public to see our Artists-in-Residence creative talents but also an opportunity to see their growth over the years.”
In Process @ The Watermill Center is an ongoing series of studio visits and open rehearsals that invites audiences of all ages and backgrounds to gain insight into how artists from across the globe develop new work. Attendees are invited to visit the studio of each artist for a presentation of the work they are developing during their residency at The Center, followed by a brief Q&A.
Brian Block, an American sculptor, will spend his residency at The Center writing and researching The Notes of F.C. Wott, File 12: Theories, a large-scale multi-panel work comprising 100+ image and text panels.
68“I was a summer intern in 2000,” shares Block, “and I have retained a love for The Watermill Center and its community ever since. It was a transformative summer in so many ways; not the least was creatively. The Center offered so many possibilities for creative extension – collaboration, collecting, curating, contemplation, creation, architecture, gastronomy – all ways of expanding one’s ways of living.”
During her residency, Greek sculptor and interdisciplinary artist Maria Louizou will explore The Watermill Center’s collection for Phonetic Costume, a research-based project which will develop into an audio-visual installation. Louizou aims to create a new soft sculpture using thick threads, a self-made weaving loom, and wooden support construction. This sculpture will be a large-scale “costume” in which she will enter and perform one of her vocal compositions.
“After my experience as a summer resident at The Watermill Center in 2019, I felt the need to participate again,” shares Louizou. “I believe that there are still uncountable opportunities to explore, which only this particular community and environment can offer, one of which is to examine the permanent collection of The Watermill Center. I also think that The Center is the only place in which intensive work in nature generates new perceptions of making art.”
Polish choreographer Ola Maciejewska is a recipient of the 2022 Baroness Nina von Maltzahn Fellowship for the Performing Arts at The Watermill Center. During her fellowship, she will continue the development of “CYKLE,” a work for two dancers based on the work of Loïe Fuller. Fabric constructions, activated by bodies, act as a medium between the body and the world and as machines that produce a constant flow of movement. The images created by these highly evocative constructions are confronted with the image of a specific body engaging in vocal practice.
“Our newest program, the Baroness Nina von Maltzahn Fellowship for the Performing Arts, allows us to invite artists like Ola, who might not have otherwise engaged with The Watermill Center,” shares Rifkin. “The Fellowship brings in emerging and established talents from across the globe, allowing the East End community to connect with artists at exciting moments in their career.”
The Watermill Center’s Artist Residency Program is process-based, providing artists with the time, space, and freedom to develop their work in a communal environment that encourages experimentation. Artists-in-Residence receives exclusive access to The Center’s expansive art collection, research library, theatrical archives, carefully curated facilities, and manicured grounds as tools in the creation of new and exciting work.
For more information about The Watermill Center, its Artists-in-Residence, and its upcoming public programs, visit www.watermillcenter.org
