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Stephen Maine
Painter, critic, curator, teacher
Professional Background
Stephen Maine is a distinguished painter whose artistic journey unfolds between the vibrant landscapes of Brooklyn, New York, and Cornwall, Connecticut. Renowned for his captivating works, Maine is proudly represented by the prestigious Hionas Gallery in New York City and the County Gallery in Palm Beach. His dedication to the fine arts extends beyond painting; Stephen has made significant contributions as an art critic and writer, enriching the dialogue surrounding contemporary art.
Throughout his illustrious career, Stephen's insights and critiques have been featured in prominent publications including Art in America, ARTnews, Art on Paper, and Hyperallergic. His writings not only reflect his deep understanding of art but also his passion for engaging with artists and the public alike. As a contributing editor for artcritical.com, he has taken on the responsibility of shaping art discourse, amplifying voices, and fostering a greater appreciation of artistry in today’s world.
In addition to his writing endeavors, Stephen is skilled in curating exhibitions that highlight emerging and established artists. His curatorial work includes significant exhibitions at reputable institutions such as the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and various galleries in Manhattan, including The Painting Center and Lesley Heller Workspace. His curatorial efforts have helped to elevate the visibility of diverse artistic expressions, making art accessible to a broader audience.
Education and Achievements
Stephen's educational background lays a solid foundation for his artistic and critical practice. He began his academic journey studying Liberal Arts at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, where he developed a comprehensive understanding of various disciplines. He further honed his artistic skills by earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Painting from Indiana University Bloomington, followed by a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visual Art from Vermont College of Fine Arts. These rigorous programs equipped him with the technical prowess and conceptual depth necessary to thrive in the competitive field of contemporary art.
Over a decade of his career was dedicated to nurturing the next generation of artists as an instructor in the Graduate Fine Arts department at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan from 2006 to 2016. His commitment to education continues at Parsons School of Design and Purchase College of the State University of New York, where he inspires students to explore their creative potential and develop their unique artistic voices.
Achievements
Stephen Maine has a long list of accomplishments that attest to his expertise and influence in the art world. As an independent curator and freelance art critic, he has played a pivotal role in shaping exhibitions that both challenge and celebrate the contemporary art landscape. His writing has appeared in esteemed publications, further solidifying his reputation as a knowledgeable and thoughtful critic. Stephen has fostered connections between artists and audiences, ensuring that art remains an engaging and dynamic form of communication.
His dual role as an artist and curator highlights his versatility and passion for the visual arts. Maine's exhibitions not only showcase the talents of his peers but also reflect his keen eye for selection and thematic development, ultimately contributing to the cultural tapestry of the communities in which he works.
In summary, Stephen Maine is a multifaceted artist whose contributions to painting, art criticism, and education have made a significant impact on the contemporary art scene. His dedication to the craft, along with his ability to curate and educate, sets him apart as a leading figure in the art community. Whether through his powerful paintings or his thought-provoking writings, Stephen continues to engage and inspire audiences, encouraging a deeper appreciation of the visual arts.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.