ARTMATTERS: The Podcast for Artists
ARTMATTERS is an intimate, bi-weekly podcast featuring in-studio conversations between host Isaac Mann and professional
artists from around the world. Now in its second season with over 55 episodes, the show has become a vital resource for the
contemporary art community, exploring everything from technical practices and daily studio insights to career advice, creative
blocks, and the emotional realities of making art.
Host Isaac Mann brings both the perspective of a working artist and the curiosity of a thoughtful interviewer to each conversation,
creating a space where artists can discuss not just their techniques and influences, but also the vulnerable aspects of creative life-
hope, depression, expectation, success, and failure.
Whether exploring technical processes, relationship dynamics, or tips for a healthier practice, ARTMATTERS offers
both emerging and established artists a rare glimpse into the real experiences behind successful creative careers.
ARTMATTERS: The Podcast for Artists
#82 with Greg Burak
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Welcome back to ARTMATTERS: The Podcast for Artists.
My guest today is painter Greg Burak. Born in Haverstraw, New York, Greg received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an MFA in Painting from Indiana University. His most recent solo exhibition was at March Gallery in New York, with previous solo exhibitions at Fortnight Institute. His work has appeared in group exhibitions at Turn Gallery, Venus Over Manhattan, and 303 Gallery. He lives and works in Queens, New York.
Now get ready for some real painting talk! I sat down with Greg Burak in his Queens studio to talk about how a painting gets built (and rebuilt) and what it means to keep changing the rules on yourself. We talk about moving between acrylic and oil, his shift away from flatness and toward forcing space into a painting, and how a problem with a figure's feet sent him down a rabbit hole of perspective and volume. We get into rhyming shapes, the weight of placing a hand, and the perfect pitch of Corot.
We also discuss the tension between observation and invention that has run through his entire practice. We talk about how Greg sets new parameters for each body of work in response to the last, the difference between single and multi-figure compositions, and artists like Cézanne, Tintoretto, and the Quattrocento. Finally, we get into finishing, knowing when to stop, procrastination, and what a good day in the studio actually looks like.
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If you have any questions you want answered, write in to artmatterspodcast@gmail.com
host: Isaac Mann
www.isaacmann.com
insta: @isaac.mann
guest: Greg Burak
www.gregburak.com
insta: @greg.burak
Thank you as always to ARRN, the Detroit-based artist and instrumentalist, for the music.