In 2009 artist and writer Sarah Trigg embarked on an ambitious field expedition across the United States, interviewing more than 200 artists in their studios. She sat down with everyone, from painters to performance artists, to investigate a wide range of artmaking practices. The result is Studio Life, a photographic and written account of 100 of her most illuminating visits. Trigg asks her subjects to share objects and working habits in six categories: mascots, collected objects, rituals, makeshift tools, residue, and habitats. These talismans and behaviors provide a framework for artists to reveal insights into their practices and the nature of the creative life. Intriguing and often humorous anecdotes emerge, of one studio’s mysterious sealed vault, another’s resident bunny, and countless sources of inspiration are unearthed: vintage comics, purses, and kitschy figurines; faded yearbooks and treasured cards and letters; and one handwritten reminder to Quit Feelin’ Sorry for Yourself. Accessible and relevant for amateur aesthetes and art-world professionals, Studio Life offers an insider’s view of the artistic process as well as a snapshot of the most interesting work being produced today.

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LIST OF ARTISTS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

  • Carol Bove
  • Diana Al-Hadid
  • Gordon Terry
  • Fred Tomaselli
  • Ezra Johnson
  • Lauren Luloff
  • Judy Ledgerwood
  • Tony Tasset
  • Luca Buvoli
  • Jackie Battenfield
  • Phyllis Bramson
  • Gary Panter
  • Alejandro Cardenas
  • Adam Janes
  • Rob Pruitt
  • Kevin Wolff
  • Jesse McLean
  • Casey Smallwood
  • Cristina Lei Rodriguez
  • Maria Yoon
  • Christy Gast
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock
  • Mindy Rose Schwartz
  • Karolina Gnatowski
  • Will Cotton
  • David Humphrey
  • Deb Sokolow
  • Gerald Davis
  • Joe Sola
  • John Tremblay
  • Eric Yahnker
  • William Wegman
  • Rob Keller
  • Conrad Bakker
  • David Brooks
  • Bhakti Baxter
  • Catherine Sullivan
  • Kelly Nipper
  • Diane Simpson
  • Michelle Grabner
  • Kay Rosen
  • Jill Magid
  • Jim Campbell
  • Byron Kim
  • Daniel Arsham
  • Jules de Balincourt
  • Aaron Curry
  • Jim Shaw
  • Fancesca DiMattio
  • Garth Weiser
  • Anthony Pearson
  • Kerry Tribe
  • Wendy White
  • Dana Schutz
  • Ryan Johnson
  • Shaun O’Dell
  • Emily Prince
  • Lesley Vance
  • Leslie Shows
  • Marianne Vitale
  • Nick Cave
  • Jedediah Caesar
  • David Altmejd
  • Richard Dupoint
  • Nicolas Lobo
  • Rachel Niffenegger
  • TM Sisters
  • John Espinosa
  • Pat Steir
  • Heather Rowe
  • Barbara Kasten
  • Xiaoze Xie
  • Victoria Gitman
  • George Sánchez-Calderón
  • Simone Leigh
  • Enrique Chagoya
  • Mildred Howard
  • Lewis DeSoto
  • Theaster Gates
  • Won Ju Lim
  • Peter Halley
  • Pamela Murphy
  • Futurefarmers
  • John Riepenhoff
  • Pablo Cano
  • Marnie Weber
  • Allison Schulnik
  • John Outterbridge
  • Rashid Johnson
  • Jen DeNike
  • Candida Alvarez
  • Tony Oursler
  • Bradley Pitts
  • John Newsom
  • John Henderson
  • Gladys Nilsson
  • Tauba Auerbach
  • Analia Saban
  • John Baldassari

SELECTED PRESS, REVIEWS & EVENTS

MOCA Cleveland, Book Talk: Sarah Trigg, Studio Life
Huffington Post, Inside the Artist’s Studio with Sarah Trigg
Eyes Towards the Dove Studio Life, Sarah Trigg, Reviewed
Fast Company Four Creative Lessons from the Studios of Famous Artists
Boston University Art Gallery, Author Talk: Sarah Trigg Studio Life 
nymag.com / vulture.com Legendary Past of Analia Saban’s Santa Monica Studio
Bad at Sports Episode 481: Interview with Sarah Trigg by Duncan MacKenzie
nymag.com / vulture.com SEEN in the Studio: Lawrence Weiner
Sight Unseen David Altmejd from Studio Life by Sarah Trigg
nymag.com / vulture.com A Visit to William Wegman’s Studio—and a Reunion with a Beloved Relic From His Past
nymag.com / vulture.com Why We’re Seduced by Rashid Johnson’s Studio Rituals
nymag.com / vulture.com This Artist Made Soy Sauce Out of Human Hair
Modern Painters Studio Check: Carol Bove by Sarah Trigg
Mutual Art Studio Life: Inside the Artist’s Studio with Sarah Trigg
theartblog.org Reviews of Two Books on Artists and Their Studios
Business Insider Artists Keep Some Strange Objects In Their Studios
School of Visual Arts, Sarah Trigg Artist Lecture
KRUU, What Artists’ Studios Reveal about the Creative Process
ABC News, An Anthropological Approach to Art
BKMag, Entrevista a Sarah Trigg
The Art Newspaper, Don’t Artists Drink and Fight Anymore?
Samson Projects, Boston, Book Launch: Studio Life by Sarah Trigg
Nina Johnson Gallery, Miami, Panel Discussion: Studio Life by Sarah Trigg
Hotel Particulier, New York, Book Launch: Studio Life by Sarah Trigg