Well, I attended the opening for my show at the Kada Gallery on Saturday evening and came away with a great sense of satisfaction in my judgement of the work there. It was a great opening that that was similar in many ways to a lot of my openings- a nice sized crowd with most of the attention diirected at the work on the wall.
I’ve been to many openings where there are big crowds and a lot of hubbub but when you look around, there are very few people spending much time examining the work. These are primarily social events and the attendees are primarily faced inward, speaking to one another. I’ve noticed that my shows often have more people facing out toward the walls, spending less time gabbing and giving most of their attention to the paintings.
This gives the show a quiet atmosphere which used to unnerve me a bit because I was mistaking noise and conversation for excitement with the work. Over the years I have found this to be often the reverse. A quiet crowd ususally means they are really looking and interacting with the walls which was the case Saturday. The number of sales which was considerable, was also a great indicator of the interest of the attendees.
While the sales are great, they are secondary to the conversations I get to have with my collectors. I’ve said it here before that I believe I have the best collectors anywhere. They are really interested in the motivations behind the paintings, intent on finding as much info as they can about the pieces that draw their attention. They let me know how the work affects them and what they see in it. It is very gratifying and a validation of all the time and effort spent in the studio. This validation is very energizing, making me want to be immediately back in the studio and setting my mind spinning with new ideas.
Many thanks to Kathy and Joe D’Angelo, owners of the gallery, for their immense efforts in making this a successful show and for their constant encouragement. I have shown with them for over 14 years now and hold them in my highest esteem. And many, many thanks to everyone who showed up on a busy Saturday night to view the show. I enjoyed speaking with each and every one of you and carry many our conversations with me.
So today I am back in the studio, very pleased with this show and eager to have paint on my hands again. Time to get back to work.
Redtree Times 