Episode 12 (+ 1)

Shana Nys Dambrot is an art critic, curator, and author based in Downtown LA. She is the Arts Editor for the L.A. Weekly, and a contributor to Flaunt, Artillery, and other culture publications. She studied Art History at Vassar College, curates and juries exhibitions, writes prolifically for exhibition catalogs and monographic publications, and speaks at galleries, schools, and cultural institutions nationally. She is the author of the surrealist novel Zen Psychosis. She is the recipient of the 2022 Mozaik Future Art Writers Prize, the 2022 Rabkin Prize for Art Criticism, and the LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Critic of the Year award for 2022.

Shana called in from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where she was on a writing retreat, so you may notice that the audio and video are just slightly choppier than usual. If you watch on YouTube you’ll catch a sneak peek of Laurie Lipton’s current project, a nearly 7ft x 20ft triptych aptly titled SMOKE.

Watch to the end to see some of Osceola Refetoff’s gorgeous photography for Zen Psychosis and to learn Shana’s plus one choice.

Discover more of Shana’s work on her website,  instagram, and @shananys on every social media platform.

This is our third “plus-one” interview. In each episode, we ask our interviewees to name someone whom they in turn would choose to ask about the five places that define Los Angeles for them. Artist Laurie Lipton, our episode 8 guest, chose art critic Shana Nys Dambrot as her plus one. To hear Laurie Lipton’s five places and read her bio, check out her interview and show notes here.