Well, another opening tonight. It’s for my new show, Avatars, at the West End Gallery in Corning, one that I’ve been featuring work from over the last couple of weeks. This is my eleventh solo exhibit at the West End so there is a definite familiarity with everything but that doesn’t make it any less angst-filled, a condition I’ve described all too often here in the blog.
I won’t bore you with that today.
I will say that I really am pleased with this group of work. The gallery has a very warm feel with the way the work hangs together and there is a sense of completeness. I tend to view each show not from my judgement of individual pieces but rather how the group works as a single entity. Looking at a hung show is like looking at painting for me, taking it all in and instantly weighing how each element affects the next, how each affects the overall look of the whole. And with this show, there’s a feeling that each piece is in its proper place. Completeness, as I said.
Of course, it’s easier to reach that feeling of completeness when there is a consistency of strength in the individual paintings. I think this show has great strength throughout it. That’s just my opinion, which should come as no surprise, but this is a really difficult group for me to pull out only one or two pieces that I could use as the answer when asked, as I always am, which paintings from a show are my favorites. I could say that nearly every piece here is my favorite. I know that sounds like a parent asked to choose which child is their favorite. But, like a parent, I see things in each that speak to me, that make each significant in its own way. Things that make me proud as a parent.
So, I may not be able to tell you which is my most favorite but I will be able to tell you what I see in each that makes it special to me. I actually like seeing what paintings other people choose as their favorite, comparing what they see in each to my own feelings about the piece. That’s one of the highlights of each show for me.
If you’re in Corning tonught, please stop in at the West End Gallery and take a look. I would be glad to hear if you have a favorite.
Redtree Times 