MAGGIE MAILER interview by Jane Feldman photography by Jane Feldman
I recently visited Maggie Mailer at her studio in New Lebanon, NY, where she was getting ready for a solo show opening at Ober Gallery in Kent, Connecticut, November 1-30. After receiving her B.A. from Columbia University in 1993, Maggie, a New York/Berkshires native and the daughter of author Norman Mailer and jazz singer Carol Stevens, came to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where she opened a studio in a vacant storefront downtown. When a variety of other artists embraced the idea, she formed the Storefront Artist Project, a residence program that tore down the walls between artists and the creative process, and a key organization in the revival of the city. I first met Maggie Mailer at Ferrin Gallery some years back in Lenox. I brought students from the School of Visual Arts’ Summer Artists Institute – a summer program I helped start in the Berkshires at Darrow School. Both Maggie and Leslie were so generous with the Artists we brought to the gallery. Maggie’s work exhibited at that time explored concepts of impermanence & memory – and I was fascinated. Gratefully, we have since become friends & colleagues. Like many fellow Artists, Maggie and I both need solo time to create work, but also crave the community of fellow artists. I’ve craved that ever since experiencing such a community with SVA in Morocco decades ago! We were a group of painters, photographers, filmmakers and writers. We critiqued work over breakfast, lunch & dinner. Paul Bowles taught the writers. It was a magical time. Maggie and I have spent many hours doing just that – talking about Art, philosophy, spirituality, politics, fears, dreams, and so much more. I think we would’ve both enjoyed being around in Paris during the Salon era! Whenever we meet in the Berkshires, New York City and beyond, we create our own little Salon environment. I often feel reenergized and renewed after critiquing work or discussing our perspectives. It’s fun thinking about now sharing one of our discussions with the larger community – in the form of this interview. Enjoy. Jane Feldman: I’m so honored and excited to be doing this interview with you, Maggie and to be sharing it with The Artful Mind readers and beyond! Both of us 16 • ThE ARTful Mind OCTOBER 2014
Maggie Mailer, Palace Revolutions, Oil on Canvas