Ingold is a Recipient of the $50,000 Bennett Prize

Aneka Ingold specializes in mixed media techniques, combining drawing and painting processes. In 2019, she was named the inaugural winner of the $50,000 Bennett Prize. This award is designed to propel the careers of women artists working in the figurative realist style. It is the largest art award offered to women painters. This interview is part of an ongoing series of articles dedicated to women artists and related to the annual Manhattan Arts International “HerStory” online art exhibitions. Lisa Botto-Lee won a Featured Artist Award in the “HerStory” 2019 competition.

Aneka Ingold, Formidable, mixed media on paper, 72” x 48”

More About Aneka Ingold: She was also named one of ten finalists for The 9th Annual Manifest Prize-One award by Manifest Creative Research and Drawing Center, which aims to reward, showcase, celebrate, and document the most exceptional artwork being made today. In 2016, the artist was awarded First Place by Juror Carrie Ann Baade, at the Valdosta National All-Media Juried Competition at Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery, Valdosta State University, Georgia. Her work was also selected by Juror Elizabeth McGrath for the Surreal Salon 8, at Baton Rouge Center for Contemporary Art, presented by Juxtapoz magazine. In 2015 Ingold was the Grand Prize Winner at the Vying show during Miami Art Basel, at Viophilia Gallery in Wynwood. Ingold is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Tampa teaching Drawing.

Aneka Ingold, Ascend, mixed media on paper, 30” x 22”

“The narratives I construct always revolve around female figures. There is a calling within each of my pieces to explore and understand what it means to me to be a woman. Although the women I render do not represent any one person in particular, there is always a part of me described in each character I create. I invent women that I hope will teach me about what it means to be a woman. I intuitively tell the stories that are not just my own, but that of my mother, my grandmother and the women that have permeated my life. These women are my friends and family members, but they are also women I identify with from history. The stories I’ve encountered that investigate female experiences throughout different time periods, cultures and political and social milieus trickle into my narratives. When I draw women, what I am most interested in is confronting and dismantling a history of societal expectations that keep women from being the complicated, complex and ambiguous individuals that they are today and always have been.” ~ Aneka Ingold

Questions By Lisa Botto-Lee

Lisa Botto-Lee is a multiple award-winning artist who is acclaimed for her mesmerizing representational portraiture. Her extensive body of work also includes figurative, land/seascapes and animals She has mastered her medium and achieved her own distinctive style of realism with the element of storytelling. She is the 5th generation from a family of artists which roots trace back to mural painters in Northern Italy.  

LBL: Congratulations on winning the Bennett Prize. Where will the show be exhibited?

AI: The solo show will begin at the Muskegon Museum of Art and will be up the same time as the next round of Bennett Prize finalists. The solo show will travel for two years. The only venue confirmed so far, aside from the MMA, is the University of Tampa, where I currently teach. The curatorial committee for the Scarfone Heartley Gallery on campus requested to have the show during it’s travel. We have yet to confirm other venues.

Aneka Ingold, Postpartum, mixed media on paper, 72” x 48”

LBL: What is your process to prepare for this show?

AI: My process for this show will be similar to how I routinely work in my studio. I use an intuitive approach to each piece. I collect both contemporary and historical images from books and magazines, and I also take my own photographs as well as use myself as a live model. I make instinctual choices regarding what images and symbols to use. They provoke deep thought within me about our societal expectations of women. The narrative starts to form around a central female figure. During this process I am uncertain of the meaning of the piece at first, but it eventually comes together to reveal a message or communicate a bigger idea. I am always learning from my process and try not to control it too much or it loses the excitement for me. It is cathartic, healing and empowering to create stories about women.

LBL: Will you use some existing pieces or be creating all new art?

AI: I have a few completed pieces I’m considering for the solo show, but I’ll have to see what new work is created and what pieces are the most compatible.

LBL: Does anything need to be approved by the Bennetts?

AI: The grant agreement requires me to submit images of finished work and work in progress to Art Martin, who is the Director of Collections and Exhibitions at Muskegon Museum of Art. I will also conduct studio visits with Art Martin, Steven Bennett and Elaine Schmidt. Together we will make the final decisions on what will be included in the exhibition.

Aneka Ingold, Live and Let Live, mixed media on paper, 50” x 60”

LBL: How many pieces will you make and what size range will you be working?

AI: I’ll be showing around eight pieces that are similar in scale and scope as the ones presented in the Rising Voices Bennett Prize exhibition, which were around 6’ x 4’.

LBL: How long will each piece take?

AI: The time it takes to make each piece varies. It depends on how much studio time I can get in and what other distractions I might have in my life at the time. It also depends on the size of the piece, how quickly the ideas fall into place and how complex the rendering is. I would say usually anywhere from one to three months.

LBL: What type of paper do you work on and where do you get these large sheets?

AI: I work on 90 lb Stonehenge printmaking paper. It’s great for mixed media and I can cut it to size. I order a 50” x 10 yd roll from utrechtart.com

Aneka Ingold, Breathe, mixed media on paper, 30” x 22”

LBL: Are you working from your home studio or did you find outside studio space?

AI: I’m still working in my home studio for the time being, which is also my bedroom. I hope to eventually remodel my house in order to have a separate area devoted just to art making. At this time, I don’t want an outside studio because I feel it’s necessary for me to be close to my children as much as possible while they’re still little.

LBL: As a mother, wife, artist and teacher, how do you juggle your schedule?

AI: I can’t give 100% to all those things at the same time. There needs to be a balance. That means sometimes I put more energy into one role and another takes a backseat momentarily. I also have a support system I rely on of family, friends and neighbors to help. Reaching out and asking for help and being there for others when they’re in need makes many more things possible. I also make sure to take breaks and stay healthy or everything and everyone can suffer.

LBL: While you are working in your studio, do you listen to music and podcasts?

AI: Yes, I love listening to music and podcasts while I work. Some of my favorite music to listen to is Cat Power, Feist, Florence and the Machine and Phoebe Bridgers. The podcasts I really enjoy are Hidden Brain, Invisibilia and Ted Radio Hour.

Aneka Ingold, Reverence, mixed media on paper, 30” x 22”

LBL: What artists are you inspired by?

AI: The artists I continue to be inspired by are the women who were associated with the Surrealist art movement. Frida Kahlo, Dorothea Tanning and Lenora Carrington. The Surrealists believed that we must create mystery and challenge reality in order to free ourselves from the control of reason and order. These women created dream like worlds full of symbolism that expressed their own personal stories about what it meant to them to be a woman at that time in history.

LBL: What famous artist from art history would you like to spend a day with and what would you do together?

AI: The artist I admire most is Frida Kahlo. I started looking at her work when I was 18 and she continues to inspire me daily. Her ability to overcome hardship and persevere and still see beauty in so many things is breathtaking. I hope to aspire to her level of openness to the universe. If I could spend a day with her, I would want to sit on her bed, watching her paint and talk about life, love and pain. Drinking, laughing and crying until the sun rises.

Aneka Ingold, Tributary, mixed media on paper, 50” x 40”

LBL: Most artists struggle with attaining a signature style while continuing to evolve. What advice can you offer in that regard?

AI: I think that finding a signature style takes a lot of trial and error and experimentation. I received a BFA in oil painting but after graduating, I realized that I continually felt discouraged by the medium. In grad school I allowed myself to pick up anything that was laying around in my studio and create from a place of intuition and spontaneity with no preconceived idea of what it should look like. I felt so liberated, even though I made a mess a lot of the time. Eventually I found a system that I went back to again and again and it felt like home. You should not force a style, it has to happen naturally.

LBL: What advice do you have for emerging female artists?

AI: Make art that speaks your truth. In other words, don’t try to make art for someone else or what you think is trendy or prestigious. I believe the best work comes from a place of authenticity. And don’t worry about having all the answers. Art that leaves you with more questions than answers provides an amazing opportunity for learning.

Follow Aneka on Instagram instagram.com/anekaingold