It's always a sad thing to take a show down and this one was no exception. The CX Silver Gallery in Brattleboro, VT presented a span of 15 years of my work in their beautiful gallery that encompasses two rooms. As you enter the gallery, there is a large space that was turned into a communal game room displaying the XOX! Share the Love® sculptural installation. On the floor around the room, I placed various sized and brightly colored X's, O's and a set of a man's dress shoe painted, sliced in half and filled with candy. In the center of the room was the X & O table and stools waiting for people to occupy them for a game, a challenge and a playful connection to each other.
Some of my favorites were also present in that room — "Get out. Don't go.", a sculptural leg joined at the knee with two feet on each end wearing pink work boots. The leg is painted with shiny silver auto paint creating a very hard limb. And then there's "Work Work Work" with intense eyes staring from behind rows of tea bags each with a tags printed with the word "work" hanging from them.
The walls were filled with large seri-graphic and lithographic prints, as well as a large sculptural wall display of a huge Tic Tac Toe game. Nearly hidden in a corner was a video screen playing "Uh Oh", an animated "O" video that climbs to a crescendo.
Over in the smaller gallery room was the large standing game table with the pizza box-sized XOX! games for 4 or more to play side by side. The game table was surrounded by my etchings, gouache on paper paintings, and a big hand-made "X" book.
As I dismantled the show piece by piece — boxing, crating and wrapping my beloveds, I experienced how slowly the show's energy was withdrawing from the space. All the people who visited, all the color, shapes and objects where being pulled from the walls and floors. What was left was a blank slate, an open space for the next artist or group of artists to enter and bring in new life and new energy. I felt a depth of gratefulness to my hosts Cai and Adam Silver for giving me their gallery, their beautiful blank canvas, to fill with my work. Thank you, Cai, Adam and everyone who went out of their way to come to see this show. I feel you and appreciate you.
So now the show has left Brattleboro, stowed for a safe journey in a U-Haul trailing behind my car. Stay tuned for where we appear next. On the road again!