Kevin Kirkwood travels to Decatur, Georgia, to sit down with artist Tori Tinsley for a conversation about process and vulnerability.

Born in 1980, Tori Tinsley is an Atlanta-based artist whose practice navigates memory, labor, and lived experience. She earned her BFA from the University of Michigan’s Stamps School of Art & Design, a Master of Arts in Art Therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and an MFA from Georgia State University. Her work has been featured in Art Papers, Oxford American, and New American Paintings, and she is a recipient of a Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant, the City of Atlanta Emerging Artist Award, and an Idea Capital Grant. Tinsley is currently a Studio Artist at Atlanta Contemporary and is represented by Laney Contemporary and Co-op Art Atlanta.

In this episode, we discuss her current body of work, now on view at Laney Contemporary in Savannah through January 10.

Learn more: toritinsley.com laneycontemporary.com

Follow the host: Instagram: @kevinwillpaint Instagram: @strandpodcast kevin-kirkwood.com

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Kevin Kirkwood shared a conversation with Anila Quayyum Agha. She is an internationally recognized artist born in Lahore, Pakistan and currently based in the US. Anila creates immersive installations that explore global and environmental issues, culture, and social and gender roles.

Using Islamic geometric patterns, light, shadow, and steel cut with delicate designs, her work transforms spaces, inviting viewers to reflect while becoming part of the installation. Her projects explore boundaries, balance, and the connections between people, cultures, and ideas, encouraging viewers to notice both harmony and difference in the world around us.

Anila earned her BFA from the National College of Arts, Lahore, and an MFA from the University of North Texas. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Kew Gardens (London), Museum of Oriental Art (Italy), and major U.S. museums such as the Crow Museum (Dallas), Bruce Museum (Greenwich), and Cummer Museum (Jacksonville). She participated in the 2019 Venice Biennale collateral event She Persists and has received numerous awards, including the NEA for her 2024 traveling retrospective Interwoven, the Joan Mitchell Award, and multiple DeHaan Artist of Distinction honors. Agha has held the Morris Eminent Scholar Chair at Augusta University and received a Smithsonian Fellowship, collaborating with SAAM and AAA. Her work is collected by prominent institutions and private collectors worldwide.

ANILA QUAYYUM AGHA

anilaagha.com

Instagram: @anilaquayyumagha

Produced by KEVIN KIRKWOOD

kevin-kirkwood.com @kevinwillpaint @strandpodcast

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Kevin Kirkwood traveled to Willow Pond in San Luis Obispo to visit the bright, light-filled studio of contemporary artist Carol Paquet. A South African–American visual artist, Carol works across photography, oil painting, and mixed media, blending analog and digital techniques to create fictional botanical landscapes shaped by memory, place, and imagination. After studying at the College of Art in Johannesburg, she spent 15 years as an art director before fully committing to her studio practice.

Kevin and Carol discuss the evolution of her work, the influence of landscape on her creative process, and how she navigates the intersection between the physical and digital worlds. With the stillness of Willow Pond just outside the studio, the conversation offers a thoughtful glimpse into Carol’s contemplative approach to art-making.

The episode also highlights upcoming workshop opportunities at Willow Pond, offering painters, digital artists, and multimedia creators the chance to work in a peaceful, immersive natural setting. Workshops for 2026 will feature artists Geoff Allen, Johan Barrios, Jason Hackenwerth, and Gorden Studer.

CAROL PAQUET

carolpaquet.com @carolpatriciapaquet

WILLOW POND – San Luis Obispo

Willowpondslo.com @willowpondslo

10 WEST GALLERY

10westgallery.com @10westgallery

MONTEREY MUSEUM OF ART

www.montereyart.org @montereyart

SAN LUIS OBISPO MUSEUM OF ART

sloma.org @slomuseumofart

Produced by KEVIN KIRKWOOD

kevin-kirkwood.com @kevinwillpaint @strandpodcast

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This episode was recorded September 26, 2025 in San Luis Obispo, California.

Kevin Kirkwood visits the vibrant, detail-packed studio of illustrator and muralist Nigel Sussman in the heart of Berkeley, California. Known for his bold isometric worlds and large-scale murals that transform city walls into playful architectural maps, Nigel has developed a visual style that is instantly recognizable and endlessly explorable.

Kevin and Nigel dive into the creative engine behind his work; from the evolution of his signature style, to the hidden stories embedded throughout his dense compositions, to the balance between structure and whimsy that defines his art. Surrounded by sketches, paintings, and the tools of his craft, this conversation offers an inside look at the curiosity, precision, and imagination that shape Nigel’s world.

A special thank you to Victoria Gildersleeve for making this episode possible. @victoriagildersleeve_projects

NIGEL SUSSMAN

NIGELSUSSMAN.COM | @NIGELSUSSMAN

Produced by KEVIN KIRKWOOD

kevin-kirkwood.com | @kevinwillpaint | @strandpodcast

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This episode was recorded September 29, 2025 in Berkeley, California.

In today’s episode, Kevin Kirkwood brings listeners to the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco, recording inside the studio of contemporary artist Wanxin Zhang. Widely regarded as a leading voice in the new generation of the Bay Area clay movement, Wanxin is celebrated for his monumental ceramic figures, his experimental formless structures, and his striking bronze works. His sculptures explore themes of globalization, politics, and cultural identity, often infused with unexpected elements of contemporary pop culture.

Surrounded by these commanding works and the energy of his studio practice, Kevin and Wanxin sit down for an in-depth conversation about Wanxin’s journey from China to California, the evolution of his distinctive sculptural language, and the cultural forces that continue to shape his approach to making art.

WANXIN ZHANG

wanxinzhang.com

@wxzhang25

CATHARINE CLARK GALLERY

cclarkgallery.com

@cclarkgallery | @clarkcatharine | @exitatccg | @boxbluratccg

Produced by KEVIN KIRKWOOD

kevin-kirkwood.com | @kevinwillpaint | @strandpodcast

Listen to The Strand via all major platforms. Including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, and Amazon.

This episode was recorded on September 24, 2025 in San Francisco.

Kevin Kirkwood sits down with celebrated artist, critic, and museum professional Hal Fischer for an intimate conversation recorded at Fischer’s home in San Francisco. Known for his groundbreaking Gay Semiotics series and influential writing on photography in the 1970s, Fischer reflects on a career that spans more than four decades and continues to shape contemporary understandings of visual culture and queer identity.

From his early days contributing to Artforum and Artweek, to his pivotal role in establishing San Francisco Camerawork, to his long tenure as a museum consultant, Fischer shares personal stories, insights, and the ideas that fueled his creative evolution. The conversation traces his return to the spotlight through recent retrospectives, renewed interest in his photographic work, and the ongoing relevance of his visual language.

Recorded among the books, artwork, and personal history that fill his San Francisco home, this episode offers a rare, firsthand look at one of the Bay Area’s most distinctive artistic voices.

Tune in for a thoughtful, candid discussion that explores art, community, memory, and the enduring impact of Hal Fischer’s vision.

HAL FISCHER

www.gaysemiotics.com

@hal.fischer

CASEMORE GALLERY

Casemoregallery.com

@casemoregallery

Produced by KEVIN KIRKWOOD

kevin-kirkwood.com | @kevinwillpaint | @strandpodcast

Listen to The Strand via all major platforms. Including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, and Amazon.

This episode was recorded September 27, 2025 in San Francisco, CA.

Photo: Kurt Edward Fishback

Kevin Kirkwood spent time with artist Andy Diaz Hope in his San Francisco studio, where Andy reflected on his upbringing on the Bay Area’s peninsula, his academic path through Stanford University, and the moment the Catharine Clark Gallery took interest in his work.

Andy Diaz Hope holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Engineering from Stanford’s renowned joint program in Design; a collaboration between the Engineering and Art departments. His practice is driven by a desire to present alternative perspectives to mainstream media narratives, fostering dialogue, pluralism, and critical thought. Known for mastering new materials and techniques, Diaz Hope continually expands the conceptual possibilities of his work.

He has exhibited internationally, with presentations at the Museum of Arts and Design (New York), the Crocker Art Museum (California), the International Museum of Surgical Science (Chicago), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Colorado), the National Gallery of Victoria (Australia), and the London Crafts Council (England). His work is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Museum of Arts and Design (New York), the Palm Springs Art Museum, the Nevada Museum of Art, and 21c Museum Hotels.

ANDY DIAZ HOPE

www.andydiazhope.com

https://cclarkgallery.com/artists/49-andy-diaz-hope/works/

CATHARINE CLARK GALLERY

cclarkgallery.com

@cclarkgallery | @clarkcatharine | @exitatccg | @boxbluratccg

Produced by KEVIN KIRKWOOD

kevin-kirkwood.com | @kevinwillpaint | @strandpodcast

Listen to The Strand via all major platforms. Including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, and Amazon.

This episode was recorded September 23, 2025 in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Episode 087: Badri Valian بدری ولیان

Kevin Kirkwood sat down with artist Badri Valian in her San Francisco studio in the Design District, where they talked about her upbringing in Iran, the ways those early experiences continue to shape her creative life, and the possibilities she envisions for her future practice.

Badri Valian is a San Francisco–based interdisciplinary and social practice artist whose work investigates the relationship between individuals and the manipulated worlds formed by war, ideology, and displacement. Her perspective is shaped by lived experiences of armed conflict, fragmented identity, and political oppression—threads that weave throughout her thoughtful, deeply human approach to making art.

Badri Valian:

https://www.badrivalian.com

@badrivalian

Produced by Kevin Kirkwood kevin-kirkwood.com | @kevinwillpaint | @strandpodcast

Listen to The Strand via all major platforms. Including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, and Amazon.

This episode was recorded September 23, 2025 in San Francisco, California.