Welcome to our seventh episode of Y2K GROUP CHAT featuring artist Tamen Pérez. We recorded in late August 2020. We speak with Tamen about grad school during COVID, working from home vs. studio, her relationship to the history of painting, living and working in Berlin, manga and music, and unlearning in painting. Tamen Pérez is an emerging artist living and working in New Haven, CT. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram: @y2kgroup Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content about contemporary art. Stay up-to-date with out Y2K Blog on our website for more news. Audio timestamps below: 0:00 - Intro music 0:15 - Y2K GROUP CHAT introduction 0:34 - Tamen bio 1:07 - Hi 1:52 - What have you been up to? 3:23 - Update on school 4:23 - How did you adapt to not having studio access at Yale during quarantine? 5:52 - Minimal materials 6:27 - How does music inspire your work? 8:08 - What’s been new with Y2K? 10:50 - Y2K-NOW idea, future shows, learning to pivot 14:11 - Making work from home vs. studio 16:54 - Painting process as workout? 17:57 - What books are you reading? 20:09 - Were you familiar with Afro-Caribbean history? 21:01 - Costa Rica 22:52 - Manga and some inspiration 25:39 - What types of materials do you use? 29:05 - Relationship to history of painting 30:32 - Unlearning 32:54 - After undergrad to New York and moving to Berlin 35:34 - 7-8 years in Berlin 39:38 - Berlin art scene or music scene 41:38 - Learning German and still adapting 44:27 - How was your past solo show at stadium? 49:23 - How did your work first change in grad school? 51:32 - Voice and hand in painting 53:09 - Ideas for thesis 56:44 - Spring studio visits 57:57 - Love of painting and being anti 58:56 - Costa Rican landscape painting and colonialism 1:00:34 - Going back to the history and re-evaluating 1:02:09 - Painting conversation in New York 1:05:34 - Thank you!