13 Questions for Lisa Adams

Did you draw when you were a kid/what age did you start?

I’ve always drawn. The earliest drawings I remember well were those I created underneath the dining room table. Laying on my back, I would draw animals and landscapes on the underside of the table. I would also pull out the drawers in the kitchen and draw on the underside of those as well. It was my secret drawing area. Whenever I wanted to look at them I’d just crawl under the table and there they were!

What has been your biggest sacrifice for art?

My biggest sacrifice for art has been just about everything. I’ve pared way down in my life including getting rid of most material things and many interactions with the outside world. My art is the centerpiece of my life.

What artists that aren't dead, influence you?

Kristin Calabrese is an amazing painter and a true inspiration, Lucas Reiner as well. I take a lot from Lee Bontecou, Robert Gober, Chris Burden, William Kentridge and Jennifer Steinkamp just to name a few, there are so many others. I am also hugely influenced by the filmmaking aesthetics of Werner Herzog and Lars von Trier.  The aesthetics of contemporary architecture also inspire me, examples like Santiago Calatrava, Rem Koolhaas, Steven Holl, Herzog & de Meuron and others.

What artists that aren't dead, really bug you?

Artists who are not entirely committed to their work and yet call themselves artists.

What do you listen to while you work?

I almost always listen to Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Steve Roach and any ambient, spacey music. It helps me to separate my mind from a physical reality.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on the next paintings. I seem to be increasingly more interested in including images of the built environment and abstract elements with the natural world.

What was the last show you saw?

In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States

What's the most indispensable item in your studio?

My painting cart. It’s got almost everything I need on wheels.

What is it that is spurring ideas for your work these days?

Looking, lots of looking, and reading about artists’ lives.

Do you collect anything?

I don’t really collect anything and in fact I get rid of as much as I can, continuously.

What are you reading right now?

I enjoy reading The New Yorker. I’m also re-reading The Merleau-Ponty Aesthetics Reader and Writings by Agnes Martin. I’m finishing up A Giacometti Portrait by James Lord and beginning Dialogues With Marcel Duchamp. I’m finding writings by and about artists very meaningful at this time.

What do you like to do when you aren’t in the studio?

I love going to the cinema to see films, sitting in the big black box, and I love walking in nature.

What's your favorite post-gallery meet up or restaurant?

For the past few years I’ve been much less social so “meet-up” is something I seldom do but I like some downtown and east side restaurants such as Pete’s Café, Artisan House, Nickel Diner, Cru, Bulan and Forage.