cool wip is brought to you by…
our hosts
Marina May
MARINA MAY (b. 1994, St. Louis, Missouri) is a writer, gallery director, and semi-professional talker based in St. Louis, Missouri. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Art History and Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis, she became the Curatorial Assistant at the Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis. During this time, she developed a fixation with distilling and communicating contemporary art through engaging and approachable language.
From this desire to increase access to art and art spaces, in 2017 she co-founded the editorial platform Silver Space. In 2019, she received a grant to develop the podcast cool WIP with visual artist Nick Schleicher. The pair continue to host cool WIP — now into its fourth season. The episodes feature conversations with artists, curators, gallery owners, organizers, and anyone invested in creative pursuits.
May rebranded Silver Space in 2023, renaming the site after cool WIP. It serves as a platform for the podcast and an archive of editorial content including essays, interviews, and criticism. Check out cool WIP on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
She currently lives and works in Saint Louis, MO where she is a gallery director at a private gallery, and a member of Monaco USA. Her work can be found on the web at coolwipofficial.com as well as on Instagram @marinamae_west / @coolwip_official
Nick Schleicher
NICK SCHLEICHER (b. 1988, St. Louis, Missouri) received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011 where he focused on painting and sculpture. His work ranges from color field abstractions to sculptural forms inspired by domestic display. Most recently, his practice investigates the relationship between object, painting, sculpture, and void.
Recent solo exhibitions include Monaco, St. Louis, MO; Grease 3, St. Louis, MO; and PLAQUE at Granite City Art & Design District, Granite City, IL. Selected group exhibitions at Julius Caesar, Chicago, IL; The Luminary, St. Louis, MO; and Aupuni Space, Honolulu, HI. Schleicher’s work has been featured in New American Paintings Midwest (Issue 143), Soft Quarterly (Spring 2021), The Pinch (Fall 2020), and Under the Bridge (Concentric Series: Issue 2) among others.
Schleicher also co-hosts the visual arts podcast cool WIP with Silver Space STL founder Marina May. cool WIP is a bi-weekly podcast of conversations with artists, curators, gallery owners/operators, and anyone interested in creative pursuits. Check out cool WIP on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
He currently lives and works in Saint Louis, MO where he is a member of Monaco USA.
Find his work:
nickschleicher.com
IG: @nick_schleicher
our producer
Andy Alton
Our producer, wizard, sage advisor. He has been making us sound good since the beginning.
IG: @pizzaboyandy