Brian Sherwin (born January 22, 1980) is an American

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogu ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

, and

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

ger with a degree from

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree ( ...

in 2003. Sherwin is a founding Management Team member of the artist social networking site

myartspace Myartspace was a social networking service for artists. It was launched in 2006 and shut down in 2012. Art competitions and exhibits Myartspace had been involved with international art fairs such as the Bridge Art Fair and Aqua Art Miami. The s ...

, where he also served as Senior Editor for six years. As Senior Editor for myartspace.com Sherwin established an extensive interview series with emerging and established visual artists. Sherwin currently writes for FineArtViews and is the editor of The Art Edge. Sherwin is also an advocate for youth

art education Visual arts education is the area of learning that is based upon the kind of art that one can see, visual arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practi ...

Life and work

Brian Sherwin was the Senior Editor for myartspace and continues to be an advocate for emerging artists. His interview series for myartspace was titled ''Art Space Talk'' and was included in the myartspace Weekly Featured Art Edition. The Weekly was an 'opt-in' only publication sent to subscribers by email, and can be found archived on the site. Since 2006, Sherwin has interviewed over 500 emerging and established artists and has conducted up to 30 interviews per month."Myartspace interviews"
Myartspace. Retrieved 8 May 2008. Sherwin said, "I consider myself to be one of the few authentic neutral voices at this time as far as reporting what is really going on in the art world instead of being told what I should report on and when. Neutral with a bite." The

Stuckism Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art."Brian Sherwin"

Stuckism Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.Mark Staff Brandl (

Art in America ''Art in America'' is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world in the United States, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It ...

) and David Lee (Art Review, The Jackdaw). His typical questions involve topics such as the state of the

art world The art world comprises everyone involved in producing, commissioning, presenting, preserving, promoting, chronicling, criticizing, buying and selling fine art. It is recognized that there are many art worlds, defined either by location or alt ...

, the validity of contemporary

art fairs An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhib ...

, and other topics related to the professional art world when interviewing art magazine editors, publishers, curators, and art critics. Sherwin's interviews and articles explore the academic community. He often asks interviewees about their

art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-sec ...

backgrounds, influential instructors that they have had, and suggestions for current art students. His interviews were mentioned in the May 16 and July 19, 2008, editions of the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximatel ...

newsletter "SFAI/INFORM" which is archived SFAI website. His interviews with SFAI alumni Seth Lower and Christian Schumann included topics focused on the SFAI program and advice for future students. Sherwin's interview with Schumann was also featured on the

Juxtapoz ''Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine'' (pronounced ''JUX-tah-pose'') is a magazine created in 1994 by a group of artists and art collectors including Robert Williams, Fausto Vitello, C.R. Stecyk III (a.k.a. Craig Stecyk), Greg Escalante, and Eric ...

website. Sherwin's on-going interview series, which has continued on FineArtViews, serves to document aspects of contemporary art culture. He bridges the mainstream art scene and the underground art scene in his interviews. He has interviewed mainstream artists,

Michael Craig-Martin Sir Michael Craig-Martin (born 28 August 1941) is an Irish-born contemporary conceptual artist and painter. He is known for fostering and adopting the Young British Artists, many of whom he taught, and for his conceptual artwork, ''An Oak Tree ...

Vito Acconci Vito Acconci (, ; January 24, 1940 – April 27, 2017) was an influential American performance, video and installation artist, whose diverse practice eventually included sculpture, architectural design, and landscape design. His foundational ...

James Rosenquist James Rosenquist (November 29, 1933 – March 31, 2017) was an American artist and one of the proponents of the pop art movement. Drawing from his background working in sign painting, Rosenquist's pieces often explored the role of advertising a ...

, Sylvia Sleigh, Georgina Starr, Patrick Brill,

William T. Wiley William Thomas Wiley (October 21, 1937April 25, 2021) was an American artist. His work spanned a broad range of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, performance, and pinball. At least some of Wiley's work has been referred to as ...

Norman Carlberg Norman K. Carlberg (November 6, 1928 – November 11, 2018) was an American sculptor, photographer, and printmaker. He is noted as an exemplar of the modular constructivist style. Early life and education Carlberg was born in Roseau, Minneso ...

Bo Bartlett Bo Bartlett (born December 29, 1955) is an American Realist painter working in Columbus, Georgia and Wheaton Island, Maine. Early life Bo Bartlett was born James William Bartlett III on December 29, 1955, in Columbus, Georgia. Bartlett’s paren ...

, Janet Biggs, Pat Lipsky, Sarah Maple and

Aleksandra Mir Aleksandra Mir (born 1967) is a Swedish-American contemporary artist known for her collaborative installations and projects. Her work deals with travel, time, placehood, language, gender, identity, locality, nationality, globality, mobility, con ...

, artists associated with the underground art scene,

Alex Grey Alex Grey (born November 29, 1953) is an American visual artist, author, teacher, and Vajrayana practitioner known for creating spiritual and psychedelic paintings. He works in multiple forms including performance art, process art, installati ...

, Blaine Fontana,

Chet Zar Chet Zar (born November 12, 1967 in San Pedro, California) is an American artist notable for his dark visual art, make-up effects, and digital animation. He is most widely known for his work with Tool's music and live videos. He is the stepson of ...

Mark Ryden Mark Ryden (born January 20, 1963) is an American painter who is considered to be part of the Lowbrow (or Pop Surrealist) art movement.Ken Johnson"Mark Ryden: ‘The Gay 90s: Old Tyme Art Show" ''The New York Times'', May 6, 2010. Retrieved 2013 ...

, Laurie Lipton, David Stoupakis and Sas Christian, and members of alternative contemporary art movements, Defastenism and

Stuckism Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.ArtPrize ArtPrize is an art competition and festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Anyone over the age of 18 can display their art, and any space within the three-square-mile ArtPrize district can be a venue. There are typically over 160 venues such as museu ...

and

CJ Follini CJ Follini (born in New York) has 38 years of experience as a multi-family office Chief Investment Officer. His track record in commercial real estate, venture capital, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and special situations i22.4% annual rate of ...

of COMPANY, and artists such as

Blek le Rat Blek le Rat (; born Xavier Prou, 1952) is a French graffiti artist. He was one of the first graffiti artists in Paris, and has been described as the "Father of stencil graffiti". Early life Xavier Prou was born on 15 November 1951 in Boulogne ...

on topics ranging from online art marketing to issues over copyright infringement. Sherwin has also interviewed authors and musicians. Including, his interview with bassist Sean Yseult of White Zombie, author

Janet Evanovich Janet Evanovich (née Schneider; April 22, 1943) is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall, but gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Steph ...

, and author

Anne Bishop Anne Bishop is an American fantasy writer. Her most noted work is the Black Jewels series. She won the Crawford Award in 2000 for the first three Black Jewels books, sometimes called the Black Jewels trilogy: ''Daughter of the Blood'', ''Heir ...

. Sherwin is also an artist.Monson, Marissa. ''Art Works'',

Illinois Times ''Illinois Times'' is a weekly free newspaper (distributed every Thursday) based in Springfield, Illinois. Founded in 1975, the newspaper was acquired in 1977 by Fletcher Farrar Sr., a Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and ...

, (July 2007), pg.11, Sherwin‘s work featured on front cover of Illinois Times He lives in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, USA, and campaigns for more prominence for art.

Notable Discourse

In 2007, Sherwin interviewed Kirsten Anderson, who owns the Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle."Kirsten Anderson on Pop Surrealism"
''

Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine ''Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine'' (pronounced ''JUX-tah-pose'') is a magazine created in 1994 by a group of artists and art collectors including Robert Williams, Fausto Vitello, C.R. Stecyk III (a.k.a. Craig Stecyk), Greg Escalante, and Eric ...

'', 22 October 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2008. Anderson is the author of ''Pop Surrealism: The Rise of Underground Art''. In her interview with Sherwin she discussed the relationship between

Street art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graff ...

Pop surrealism Lowbrow, or lowbrow art, is an underground visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles, California area in the late 1960s. It is a populist art movement with its cultural roots in underground comix, punk music, tiki culture, graffiti, and h ...

and

Lowbrow Lowbrow may refer to: * Lowbrow, relating to, or suitable for a person with little taste or intellectual interest, the converse of highbrow * Lowbrow, forms of entertainment that are unsophisticated, i.e. not difficult or requiring much intelligen ...

, as well as the growth of ''

'' magazine, which she thought had "morphed itself into a street art magazine.". The exchange between Sherwin and Anderson has been referenced on several online communities and forums. In 2009, Sherwin interviewed Wikipedia co-founder

Jimmy Wales Jimmy Donal Wales (born August 7, 1966), also known on Wikipedia by the pseudonym Jimbo, is an American-British Internet entrepreneur, webmaster, and former financial trader. He is a co-founder of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikip ...

. The interview focused on what passes for notability in respect to visual artist bios on Wikipedia among other things. In the course of the interview Sherwin questioned Wales about widespread allegations that Wikipedia has failed to offer adequate art coverage. Wales stressed that he feels that coverage of the arts on Wikipedia needs to be improved and admitted that there are "''gaps in coverage''". He told Sherwin about some of the difficulties that arise when establishing notability and stated, "''We're able to find "notability" in lots of different places and for lots of different reasons''.""Art Space Talk: Jimmy Wales"
Myartspace.com. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
Myartspace.com. Retrieved 24 April 2011. When Sherwin pressed Wales about his interpretation of what makes a visual artist notable by Wikipedia standards Wales replied that there are "''no easy answers''". Wales later stated that he agreed with art critic

Jerry Saltz Jerry Saltz (born February 19, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American art critic. Since 2006, he has been senior art critic and columnist for ''New York'' magazine. Formerly the senior art critic for ''The Village Voice'', he received the Pu ...

that some Wikipedia artist entries are "bogus" while others are the "best". Wales informed Sherwin that his greatest hope is that Wikipedia "in some small ways" can help the public to appreciate art and art education. In the course of the interview Wales suggested that the art community should welcome the Wikipedia community stating that the Wikipedia project will help "''bring art to everyone in a way that will drive interest in sustaining and protecting art in the long run.''" In 2011 Sherwin had a follow-up in a second interview with Wales and other

Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., or Wikimedia for short and abbreviated as WMF, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California and registered as a charitable foundation under local laws. Best kno ...

staff for Faso.com's FineArtViews blog. Wales offered thoughts about the various art focused projects on Wikipedia and some of the controversy surrounding Wikipedia articles about art. Liam Wyatt of the Wikimedia Foundation stated, "''I would argue that, more than any other subject area, Art is so diverse there is no way that we could have hard/fast rules about what makes an artist notable.''" when asked about the difficulty of deciding if an artist is notable or not. When asked if Wikipedia staff help to create art related articles Jay Walsh responded with, "''The Foundation itself is not engaged in the creation of new articles, nor partnerships with art galleries. Typically these are initiatives undertaken by volunteers or chapters of volunteers directly.''". In 2011, Sherwin interviewed

Mat Gleason of

Coagula Art Journal ''Coagula Art Journal'' was founded in 1992 by Mat Gleason as a freely distributed contemporary art magazine. Since its inception, the publication remains free as a PDF download, however readers may still obtain a hard copy via "print on demand" ...

for Faso.com's FineArtViews blog. Sherwin described Gleason as being a "bare-knuckled art critic". The interview between Sherwin and Gleason focused on

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...

criticism and the role of art blog’s in present day art criticism among other issues. Gleason suggested to Sherwin that art blogs and the development of new media have become a "blow" to traditional print art magazines. Gleason and Sherwin also discussed how art

bloggers A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

form a "pack mentality" based on region and perceived significance.

Publications and Blogs

Sherwin is a reviewer and a contributing writer for ''Hi Fructose Magazine''. Sherwin's articles for "Hi Fructose" document topics involving the underground and counter culture art scene. His articles include a review of Insect Lab, a series of controversial cybernetic sculptures by

Mike Libby Born in 1976 in Maine, Mike Libby is a contemporary American artist who created the Insect Lab in 1999 after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design. Within this sculptural series, he combines real preserved insect specimens with mechan ...

that involve insects and mechanics.Sherwin, Brian. ''Insect Lab'', Hi Fructose Magazine, (Fall 2007), Vol. 6 Sherwin also covered the Kokeshi Project, a series of shows organized by Christina Conway, that involve

Kokeshi , are simple wooden Japanese dolls with no arms or legs that have been crafted for more than 150 years as a toy for children. Originally from the northeastern region ( Tōhoku-chihō) of Japan, they are handmade from wood, having a simple trun ...

figurines painted by 74 artists representing 13 countries. In the article Sherwin pinned the name "Culture Kokeshi" when describing the international and contemporary appeal of the figurines displayed in the Kokeshi Project compared to the territorial roots of traditional Kokeshi designs.Sherwin, Brian. ''Kokeshi'', Hi Fructose Magazine, (Spring 2008), Vol. 7 His work has also been published in

Professional Artist (magazine) ''Professional Artist'' is an American bimonthly art trade magazine that provides tools and resources for visual artists. It was established under the name ''Art Calendar'' in 1986 and provides tips and insight on becoming a professional artist a ...

. Several of Sherwin's interviews and articles have been featured content on the "Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine" website. This includes his interviews with

Christian Schumann Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

Anthony Lister Anthony Lister (born 1980) is a contemporary Australian artist. Lister helped pioneer the street art movement in his home city as a teenager. His artistic style employs charcoal, acrylic, spray paint, and oil. His exhibitions include those hel ...

, and

. He has also been a guest interviewer and referenced on underground art sites the ''beinArt Surreal Artist Collective'', and ''Underground Art Union'' Sherwin's interview with

was cited at length in a

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

Art Mag feature about the artist. His FineArtViews interview with art critic Mat Gleason was featured on

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

Criticism

Sherwin has been critical of the world-renowned street artist

Shepard Fairey Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary artist, activist and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. In 1989 he designed the " Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker campai ...

due to

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, ...

allegations involving Fairey's

Obama poster Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

s and

Obey Obey may refer to: *Obedience (human behavior), the act of following instructions or recognizing someone's authority * Obey (surname) * ''Obey'' (Brainbombs album), a 1995 album by the Swedish band Brainbombs * ''Obey'' (Axis of Advance album), a ...

clothing line. Sherwin has defended the criticism of Mark Vallen, an artist who claims that Shepard Fairey's career has been based on

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and though ...

and appropriation without attribution. Sherwin's criticism of Shepard Fairey has been cited on the

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

website and the

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently ...

website. Sherwin's criticism of Shepard Fairey has appeared on Maynard Institute for Journalism Education articles. Nick Rizzuto on the

Conservative Punk Conservative Punk was a website that promoted conservative views in the punk subculture. It was created by Nick Rizzuto, an employee of a New York City rock radio station, partially in response to the left-liberal group Punkvoter (created by N ...

web site said that Sherwin "makes a pretty good case". Sherwin has also been critical of

Joy Garnett Joy Garnett (born 1960) is an artist and writer from New York, United States. Trained as a painter, her work explores contemporary practices around cultural preservation, alternative histories and archives. Her interdisciplinary work combines cr ...

Richard Prince Richard Prince (born 1949) is an American painter and photographer. In the mid-1970s, Prince made drawings and painterly collages that he has since disowned. His image, ''Untitled (Cowboy)'', a rephotographing of a photograph by Sam Abell and ...

and other artists known for copyright infringement, or allegations of

, who support free culture and limited

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

protection. Sherwin has shown support to

Brad Holland John Bradley Holland (born December 6, 1956) is a retired American professional basketball player. He played for four years at UCLA (from 1975 to 1979). He was a member of the 1980 Los Angeles Lakers championship team. He was the University of S ...

, co-founder of The Illustrators Partnership of America, who advocates the preservation of creative copyrights on intellectual property. Sherwin has also allowed limited copyright supporters, such as Alex Curtis of

Public Knowledge Public Knowledge is a non-profit Washington, D.C.-based public interest group. Founded in 2001 by David Bollier and Gigi Sohn, Public Knowledge is primarily involved in the fields of intellectual property law, competition and choice in the digi ...

to offer their view on the subject."Brad Holland Responds to Public Knowledge"
Myartspace.com. Retrieved 24 April 2011.

Notes and references

External links

Brian Sherwin's The Art Edge

Brian Sherwin on FineArtViews

Myartspace Blog

Archived Interviews Conducted by Brian Sherwin

A Portrait of an Artist as a Self-Marketer (excerpt from an article) / Copyright Alliance
">Copyright Alliance">A Portrait of an Artist as a Self-Marketer (excerpt from an article) / Copyright Alliance

'Was There a Dark Cloud Looming Over Miami? Or Was it All in Our Minds?'
by Brian Sherwin, featured on Sharkforum {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwin, Brian American curators American art critics Living people Illinois College alumni American bloggers 1980 births 21st-century American non-fiction writers