The Million-Petaled Flower of Being Here | Oi Fortin

The Million-Petaled Flower of Being Here is a writing project by author/artist Jacquelyn Gleisner, who will interview a range of artists from different backgrounds and ages to present a nuanced picture of how artists change over the span of their careers. This project is one of our Older but Younger Special Commissions.

“Before taking her photo, Oi Fortin rises from her stool to don her beige printmaking apron. This smock is practical and comforting explains Fortin, who tells me her first name means “sweetie” in Thai. Around Fortin’s studio, dozens of small, colorful monoprints are drying. With their slender compositions, many of these works evoke the human body: Layers of flat shapes resemble a singular figure on an abstract ground. Fortin’s excitement for her recent success seems humble and natural, though she didn’t begin making art until her 30s. ” Continue Reading on Connecticut Art Review

Artspace will print excerpts from these interviews in a section of the printed City-Wide Open Studios guide, and the full interviews will be available on Gleisner’s online art blog, Connecticut Art Review.