Demetrius Wilson describes painting as a living exchange—where the canvas responds, shifts, and ultimately becomes something greater than he first imagined.

In this episode, abstract painter Demetrius Wilson reflects on his second solo exhibition at Half Gallery and the evolution of a practice rooted in intuition, movement, and material dialogue. Working at the intersection of environment, memory, and abstraction, Wilson explores how color, scale, and gesture can evoke both personal and collective experience.

But this conversation goes beyond painting.

Here, Demetrius considers what it means to create in a rapidly changing world—tracing how a 1990s upbringing, spiritual inquiry, and a desire to expand visual language all shape his approach to art-making and meaning.

In this episode Demetrius shares:

• His recent exhibition Light in a Dark Mirror and why it represents his strongest body of work to date
• The idea of painting as a “symbiotic” process—where the work responds and evolves in real time
• Growing up on the East Coast in the 1990s and how that era shapes his perspective and process
• His approach to color—using heat, temperature, and contrast to evoke emotional intensity
• His relationship to spirituality and how religious ideas subtly surface in his recent work
• Key artistic influences including Ed Clark, Jack Whitten, Mark Bradford, Cecily Brown, Francis Bacon, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
• How scale shifts perception, from expansive canvases to intimate works on paper

At its core, this conversation is about movement—between control and release, past and present, clarity and ambiguity. Through Demetrius Wilson’s reflections, painting emerges as both a physical act and a philosophical inquiry: a space where memory, environment, and emotion collide, and where abstraction becomes a language for navigating a world that is constantly in flux.

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Lyndon J. Barrois, Sr began creating art from discarded chewing gum wrappers when he was 10 years old.

In this episode, award‑winning animator and visual‑effects artist Lyndon J. Barrois, Sr discusses his latest exhibition, his most ambitious project to date, the groundbreaking show - Futbol is Life: Animated Sportraits on view at the LACMA through mid July 2026. Iconic moments from both women’s and men’s soccer are staged as both spectacle and social record, pairing the “beautiful game” with the political and cultural forces it reflects.

But this isn’t just a conversation about his show at LACMA.

Instead, Lyndon draws parallels between sports and politics, art and life, creative expression and mentorship, and the ways in which history, while sometimes hidden from view, is always present - if one knows where to look.

In this episode Lyndon shares:

• His origins growing up in New Orleans
• How he began using discarded chewing gum wrappers to make art
• Studying at the HBCU, Xavier University of Louisiana then at Cal Arts
• His mentor, John Scott who encouraged him to see his work differently
• The buried histories and inequities in sports
• And how history can be found if one knows where to look

At its core, this conversation considers the relationships and histories that are waiting to be unearthed through visual storytelling and sports as a conduit for cultural conversations.

If you liked the episode, subscribe to our Substack for more highlights and insights about this episode and Lyndon’s practice.

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On this episode, Leo Iheagwam aka Soldier, the London-based painter-sculptor who rose to prominence in the art and skate scene of Lagos, Nigeria and London, discusses his first digital curation, Future Tense presented with myma.art.

Soldier has emerged as one of the strongest voices is shaping the new African creative landscape in recent years. In 2025, Soldier was selected as a finalist for the Arte Laguna prize. The Arte Laguna Prize is one of Italy’s most established international art competitions, recognized for its high-profile jury and global visibility, making a finalist position a respected mark of prestige for emerging artists.

In this episode we discuss Future Tense, a digital exhibition featuring emerging and established artists worldwide, rooted in his interest in speculative futurism and documenting the Black body in the future. He describes discovering MyMa through a friend and valuing its model beyond traditional white-gallery spaces, selecting artists whose personal visions fit the theme from a large application pool.

Soldier outlines his multi-medium practice as symbol-driven “historian” work shaped by growing up in Nigeria, military/war references, and skateboarding as a countercultural catalyst. For Soldier, art provides a space for belonging through a lineage of risk-taking thinkers. He proposes that designing a playable sculpture playground would be a dream collaboration.

Discover Future Tense

Learn more about myma.art

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On this episode I’m joined by Lindsay Adams and Caitlin Berry as we discuss Lindsay's latest exhibition at the Irene and Richard Frary Gallery at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center.

Ceremony brings newly created paintings and drawings into conversation with archival materials and previously unseen ephemera from Johns Hopkins special collections. Lindsay reflects on how her background in international studies and anthropology shapes a multi-lens approach and attention to interconnected histories. Caitlin describes building a relationship with Adams over several years, Adams’ research-driven practice, and how guest curator Claudia Watts helped merge new paintings with library archives to support the gallery’s mission of dialogue around art and democracy.

Ceremony is on view at the Irene and Richard Frary Gallery at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center through March 7, 2026

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 Welcome to Season 6 of Light Work Presents: Everything is Connected.

This year, we're releasing bigger episodes, recording more episodes, and deepening conversations at the intersection of art, education, and culture.

More artists and more art. More impactful conversations on art and culture. Exclusive resources, BTS footage of my travels and insights into the international art world and more!

I've just launched our my Substack and if you like my work consider showing your support and subscribing!

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On this episode I’m joined by Bisa Butler. We discuss her pivot from painting to quilting, what it was like for her to study at an HBCU, she earned her BFA in Painting at Howard University, how that experience shaped her and what she hopes her work does in the world. Bisa talks about her recent exhibition Hold Me Close that was previously on view at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in LA.

Bisa Butler (b. 1973) lives and works in New Jersey. She earned her BFA in Painting at Howard University and holds a MA in Teaching Art from Montclair State University. In 2020, Portraits at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Katonah Museum of Art was the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition. Her quilts were prominently featured in Black American Portrait at LACMA, Los Angeles (2022) and Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2021), and graced the cover of both exhibition catalogs.

Her work can be found in the permanent collections of several institutions, including Art Institute of Chicago; The Smithsonian American Museum of Art; The Pérez Art Museum, Miami; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; MFA Houston; and de Young Museum, San Francisco. Butler is the recipient of the 2022 Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship and of the inaugural “Faith in The Arts Award,” presented by Broadway Housing Communities in recognition of the legacy of Faith Ringgold.

The World Is Yours, Butler’s first exhibition with Jeffrey Deitch in New York in 2023, attracted thousands of visitors. Hold Me Close is the artist’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles.

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On this episode I’m joined by Rashaad Newsome as we discuss his film Assembly. The documentary details the personal journey and events that inspired his 2022 Park Avenue Armory installation. I was fortunate to attend a final performance, thanks to my ARTNOIR family, and was captivated by Rashaad's immersive world. Shoutout to ART NOIR!

I especially loved the dances and spoken word segments, which highlighted the participatory nature of his work. The film honestly reveals how compelling personal narratives are. Rashaad and I discuss these personal aspects, including his family history, struggles, and experience as a Black queer artist.

Dr. Rashaad Newsome's multifaceted work blends filmmaking, animation, robotics, performance, and more, challenging traditional narratives. Drawing from diasporic improvisation, he incorporates advertising, art history, and Black and Queer culture to create counter-hegemonic works that oscillate between social practice and abstraction.

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On this episode I’m joined by Salome Asega. Salome and I discuss her journey from working at the Ford Foundation to returning to a more intimate engagement with artists at New Inc.

We cover the importance of alternative spaces for artists, how New Inc supports interdisciplinary creators, and the impact of geopolitical tensions on creative communities. And the significance of teaching, community, and place-based work, emphasizing the need for genuine engagement and collaboration.

Salome Asega is the Director of NEW INC, the New Museum's cultural incubator for creative practitioners working across art, design, and technology. Asega is also an artist, researcher, and educator working between participatory design and emerging technologies.

Thank you to our hosts at WSA Podcast Studios.

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