Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/730395
or our second annual Thought Leaders Issue, we set out to fill our pages with the creatives who best represent what is relevant and compelling at this given moment. We spent the summer months visiting studios of emerging and established artists and architects, talking to institution leaders, but most importantly, listening to the collective buzz about the people and endeavors that are shaping our future. For example, our cover subject Rashid Johnson—who, at 40, has the full attention of the art world—opens his show "Fly Away" at Hauser & Wirth this month. On a sweltering day in July, I visited the artist in his Bushwick studio, with his friend Hank Willis Thomas, who photographed him for our story. The moment felt historic as a crew of eight watched Johnson rub black soap wax on his canvases. Later, he revealed his signature modesty when he told contributing writer Carol Kino that this show will likely be about "the success or failure of Rashid Johnson." Cute of him to say, but I think his success has been predetermined for quite some time. We were also granted a rare invite to visit painter Julie Mehretu—our other cover subject—in her New York studio. Mehretu, whose show "Hoodnyx, Voodoo and Stelae" opens at Marian Goodman Gallery later this month, sits down with academic and first-time contributor William J. Simmons to discuss contradictions and "The Addis Show," her first in her native Addis Ababa, which she describes to Simmons as "a sociopolitical, collaborative and multi-continental happening." You may notice this issue's wealth of in-studio moments. We're so grateful for these opportunities to engage such an incredible array of creators in their own super-charged environments. This summer, Contributing Editor Michael Slenske visited five of L.A.'s female artists—Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Kathryn Andrews, Anna Sew Hoy, Eve Fowler and Sojourner Truth Parsons—each at a pivotal point in her career. Slenske also got the first-ever in-person interview with artist Alphachanneling at his Oakland work space, where he discovered a trove of the artist's erotic drawings and paintings. Back on the East Coast, Ryan Steadman visits with sculptor Joel Shapiro at his Long Island City studio as he readies for a fall show with Dominique Lévy. Artist Sally Mann also captures the power of the studio setting in her new body of work, a series of photographs taken at the work space of her longtime friend Cy Twombly. She speaks to Ted Loos about her upcoming Gagosian Gallery show, "Remembered Light." It's fall and the cultural calendar is full. On our agenda is Expo Chicago, where we'll be presenting a conversation with Hans-Ulrich Obrist, as well as Culture Lab Detroit, which we're proudly collaborating with again this year. In L.A., we are partnering on the opening of "The Human Condition," a though-provoking show of work by emerging talent alongside more established names. You can read about them all inside. We can't wait to hear what you think. Sarah G. Harrelson Founder and Editor-in-Chief @sarahgharrelson Follow us | @cultured_mag 62 culturedmag.com The Thought Leaders Issue Silvia Karman Cubiñá, Sarah Harrelson and Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn in Aspen for a luncheon hosted by Cultured, Net-a-Porter and the Bass Museum of Art. PHOTO BY MARYSUE BONETTI * THE ART BASEL ISSUE COMES OUT NOVEMBER 28. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! F