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Jan Dickey: Poisoned by Paint, Surviving the NYC Art Market, Curating Shows & Redefining Success
Manage episode 490630596 series 3673586
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Special Thanks:
- Thank you to Jan Dickey for his openness and time.
- Spiritual and production help: Bob Bikel
Find Jan Dickey online: https://www.jandickey.com/
We sat down with Jan Dickey, an NYC artist who doesn't sugarcoat anything about what it's really like to make art for a living. His story is wild – during his MFA, he literally got poisoned by formaldehyde from house paints and had to completely rethink his materials. Now he works with stuff like milk paint, egg tempera, and rabbit skin glue – way more traditional but actually safe to breathe around. What's cool about Jan is how he's totally embraced the chaos of his materials. He lets his paintings crack and peel on purpose and sees it as the paint collaborating with him rather than fighting against it. We talk about his residencies at places like the Sam and Adele Golden Foundation and Vermont Studio Center, and how being in different spaces completely changed his work – like when he started incorporating these light shapes from his studio window. But we also get into the nitty-gritty of actually surviving as an artist in NYC. Jan's done curatorial work (he's got shows at University of Hawaii and more coming up), worked at Artcake, and dealt with galleries like Kasmin and 550 Gallery. He's super honest about the business side – handling art handlers, dealing with market pressure, and figuring out what "success" even means when you're not following the typical path. If you're an artist, creative, or just curious about what it actually takes to stick with this crazy career, Jan's perspective is refreshingly real. No romanticizing – just the truth about resilience, philosophy, and making it work.
Quick note: we used AI transcription for all the names and details here, so sorry in advance if anything got mangled – just let us know if we need to fix something!
Mentioned in this episode:
- Artistic Noise https://www.artisticnoise.org/
- Kasmin Gallery https://www.kasmingallery.com/
- 5-50 Gallery https://www.5-50gallery.com/
- University of Hawaii (MFA Program)
- Deborah Drexler
- Liam Davis
- Sam and Adele Golden Foundation
- Vermont Studio Center
- Artcake https://artcake.org/
- Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program
- NARS Foundation
Host: Vlad Levine
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