Over the last couple of months I’ve been stippling every spare hour I happen to stumble into in order to prepare the following three works for an invitational exhibition in Tennessee called Envisioned Landscapes. I was in great company with several artists I’ve had the privilege of exhibiting with previously including two huge inspirations Mary Nees and Suzanne Stryk.
I was super bummed that I had to miss the opening and the company of my fellow artists but the week before these works were set to be delivered to the gallery (a mere 2 days after completion!) I was in a car wreck and well… life happens. I’m doing a lot better though – no worries. The body is surprisingly resilient. Long story short – I did not get to attend the opening reception (though the gallery director was amazing and sent the following photo taken with my work so I could be there “in spirit”) and I am eagerly awaiting photos of the exhibition later this month.
I’m really happy with these works and am starting to build an entire show around them with a new work in progress targeted at an upcoming exhibition locally in Atlanta. With a great deal of planning and elbow grease I hope to get a nice set of 20 works together that I can try to get out there next year. It’s a good feeling – it’s been awhile.
Excerpt from my new artist statement about this work:
“Within each composition I attempt to piece together moments within a larger personal narrative that is characterized by inconsistency and embellishment.
“At times, I am unsure as to the truth of my individual memories. Questions of legitimacy provide illusive answers as I am seldom confident as to whether or not a memory is the result of an actual experienced event or the product of a repeated story told from the perspective of another. The insecurity that arises from the acknowledgment of how insubstantial the foundation of identity can be is sublimated through the re-imagining of key aspects of an ongoing narrative. The fissures of uncertainty that develop and expand over time allow for reinterpretation and elaboration in order to fit an evolving framework that contributes to my overall sense of self at a given moment.”
Cry The Bird 