Tania Franco Klein & William J. Simmons, moderated by Ximena Prieto

In this Roundtable we are joined by Mexican photographer, Tania Franco Klein, and art curator and writer, William J. Simmons. Tania’s work has been exhibited widely both in solo and group shows across Europe, the USA, and Mexico and has been commissioned by clients like The New York Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, Vogue and Dior. Will received his BA in Art History and LGBTQ Studies at Harvard University and his book, Queer Formalism: The Return, was published by Floating Opera Press this March. In 2020, Will curated the special projects section at the Felix Art Fair in Los Angeles, entitled Cruel Optimism, which highlighted themes of gender, queerness, and feminism. He is presently curating a special limited edition zine for King Kong Magazine, and brought Tania on to photograph Yalitza Aparicio for the first issue.

Ximena Prieto leads this thoughtful conversation and the three debate many aspects of the art world, from the view of the artist to that of the audience. They start with discussing how Will and Tania’s recent collaboration came about, the inspiration, and the logistics to bring it together during a pandemic. Tania delves into society’s influence on her practice and how self reflection has helped her achieve the intimacy that’s portrayed in her work, and the group considers how the audience's perception can sometimes differ from the intention, and how this can be a fruitful challenge to further hone artistic focus. Ximena wraps up the conversation with a reflective and hilarious round of quick fire questions including ideal 1 am snacks and controversial art & film world opinions...