As the date looms

After the holiday rush, family visits and winter digging out, it was suddenly time to get ready for my solo exhibition. Marking Time opens on April 1st. and that date rushed towards me with unexpected urgency. The creation of work, though vital and essential, is only one part of preparing for a solo exhibition.

I considered what work I was most excited to share. I pulled out flat file drawers, opened boxes, unwrapped pieces, and little by little works spoke to me from walls, and tables, propped up, and laid out all around me. I was becoming reacquainted with old friends. Like venturing through the looking glass, I remembered where I was in my artistic journey when I created the work, what it was created in response to, how each series fed into the next. I started to see the threads connecting the different series.

A discussion begins

Surrounded by work made in the last few years, I began to see conversations percolating within and between the work. It was especially heartening to see the quantity of work that lay before me. It has been a challenge these last few years to remain focused and consistent in my studio practice with the pandemic, maintaining family relationships across seven states amid travel restrictions, family responsibilities and life’s daily demands. I love and appreciate my studio, and the sanctuary it offers in which to look at, think about and create work. However, it is a narrow, moderately sized studio. I invest my creative intention and energy into each body of work but need to pack away other series to allow space for me to create new ones. It was gratifying to see that despite everything, I worked intently and with purpose; the results lay in numerous bodies of work before me.

There is the work. And there are the exhibition details. Running up against a tight deadline there are many moments when I feel overwhelmed. I make a list. Work, framing, timeline, pricing, digital and physical postcard invitations, scheduled opening, artist talk and workshop, deadlines for each, work documentation as well as the necessary supporting written information. I know the space in which the work would hang and have an idea about the placement of certain pieces. I ask a trusted friend and art colleague, Avery Syrig, to come to the studio to look at the work. It helps to have new eyes scrutinizing the art to reveal my blind spots and offer insights about it that I might have missed.

Coming together

We meet at the gallery to lay out artwork. I appreciate that Avery suggested I bring more work than I had planned in order to have options. For several hours we discuss groupings, make swaps, and experiment with placement possibilities. I want to create visual interest, a sense of balance, and rhythm; a dynamic presentation that encourages conversations within and between the work. After some final tweaks, I step back and I can see the exhibition coming together in front of my eyes. It is a powerful moment to see the work living and breathing outside my studio. I feel pride and excitement that it is soon to be shared with the public.

Though somewhat overwhelmed with the remaining tasks, I am giddy with anticipation. I cannot wait to see the work, fully framed and hung. To walk into the brightly lit gallery space and take it all in. I look forward to sharing it with gathered family, friends, colleagues and collectors as they experience the work and live with it for a little bit.

And now I’d like to invite you to the exhibition and hope to see you there:

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