It’s been a busy week-and-a-half and there is so much worth mentioning.

On Thursday, October 6th, Rebecca (my wife) had her opening at a Seattle gallery. She had been working on a series of paintings entitled “Drift” for the past year – really beautiful, highly-detailed paintings of people reclining upon different surfaces and environments. She had 12 paintings in the exhibition, which was well received. I’m very proud of her – she works so hard on her painting, and the pieces all look so magical.

Part of me hopes that she will sell her whole show so that she can feel that level of appreciation from the public, and part of me hopes that she will have many works left after the show is over, so that she can exhibit them elsewhere. Selling a work is bittersweet sometimes… but, then again, so is having works at home when they should be out in the world.

Over the weekend, I went to New York City on business – not art-related. I was only there for two days, and to my pleasure I was able to spend a good portion of the weekend exploring. I was unable to go to my favorite gallery there, but I was able to spend time of both days at MOMA. The new space is amazing, and as I anticipated, seeing the collection again was marvelous. I was particularly struck by Sam Taylor-Woods’ time-lapse videos and a small, crisp Sheeler painting. I was intrigued by Ryan McGinness prints and wished I were able to see more of them in person.

I escaped MOMA after spending more than I had planned to on books of John Baldessari and Marcel Dzama works. I need more space for bookshelves.

The most amazing art experience over the weekend was unplanned, as most extraordinary moments are. As I was walking down 6th Avenue, not far from Rockefeller Center, something drew my eyes to turn towards the glass of a financial building I was in front of. I approached the glass, beginning to form the image of a large mural spanning the lobby. I, once close enough to view the painting that lay spanning the large atrium, was awestruck. The thought came to mind that it might be a (Thomas Hart) Benton work. I was a little nervous entering the massive space and walking up to the guard – there was nobody else in the atrium, and I felt quite small. I asked him about the painting and he confirmed that it was a Thomas Hart Benton mural. After some pleading and kind-talking, he allowed me to proceed behind the stanchions and the security desk to take a closer look. I first went to a plaque on the wall. The mural was “America Today”, painted in 1929-1930 originally for the New School for Social Research. It was Hart Benton’s first major mural commission.

I have a soft spot for murals in general, but this painting was a religious experience on canvas for me. I stood in the lobby for perhaps a half of an hour, tears welling in my eyes, awestruck by the beauty, the composition, and by the humanity in the painting. Scenes of mill workers, farmers, steelworkers, dancers, business, transportation, religion, musicians – all flowed from one portion of each panel to the other side, and on to the next panel with intensity, grace, explosions of color. For the coarse personality that Benton was known to possess, I found it exceptionally sensitive and full of reverence for people and for human aspirations. I could have spent days in that room without food or water, studying every square inch of the mural. I was inspired, and also shocked that someone had made so magnificent a painting as this.

Needless to say, although the rest of New York was wonderful, it paled to this half-hour in a lobby.

On Monday and Tuesday (October 10 & 11), I was able to do some more painting in the evening, working on my series of eyes mentioned in an earlier posting.

Wednesday evening (October 12) Rebecca and I went to spend “art night” at the studio/home of a fellow artist. He lives and works in an industrial building under a bridge, in an area that overlooks a lot where the poor and homeless sleep on cardboard and clear their heads of their troubles with alcohol and drugs. Like many artists I know who live in industrial spaces, they live there on the margins of legality – most industrial spaces are not zoned for residences, excepting the one live-in manager of the building. It is very challenging for most artists to find suitable studio space, and if they are able to find this space, few artists have sufficient incomes to afford a second living space. Although there are plenty of “artist lofts” in Seattle, flashy, well-designed loft spaces - most are priced well beyond the incomes of the average artist. Thus, like many artists I know, my friend sleeps in his grungy industrial studio, taking the risk that he may be 'found out'.

Despite the rough look of the space, and the even rougher look of the neighborhood, it is magical to enter spaces such as this one. Creative people find creative solutions for decoration and outfitting of their spaces. It was filled with ephemera, unusual objects, Christmas lights, etc. The tables and desks were interesting, constructed of found objects and discarded lumber pieced together in inventive and attractive ways. The space itself had many windows and plenty of space for making art – truly ideal for a productive artist. Despite being rather tired from a full week, Rebecca and I had an enjoyable time wandering through the building – we even were able to get a little drawing completed.

I always feel slightly jealous when I am in spaces like this – although I live and work within legal boundaries, in my rented home, heated and well lit, I am always inspired by being in a true artists’ loft space. I would rather own an industrial building that I could convert to livable space than live in a standard home, constrained by its perfect white walls and low overhead space.

On this past Thursday, October 13, Rebecca and I were part of an exhibition about artists that are couples entitled “pARTners” at the Kirkland Art Center in Kirkland, WA. Works by Jacob Lawrence and Gwen Knight, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, Flora Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick, among others (including us), were there. It was an exciting opening and was well-attended. My wife Rebecca had the honor of having her painting featured on the cover of the catalogue. The curator of the exhibition has become a strong supporter of the art Rebecca and I have been producing, and we are very thankful that she saw it fit to invite us to be in such excellent company in the exhibition.

After the opening Rebecca and I walked to the center of Kirkland, which was having its monthly “art walk”, and were able to peek into a few spaces. The highlight of the evening was stumbling across a public art temporary installation/performance piece by a local trio called Sutton, Beres & Culler (John, Ben & Zac). I have been watching their work closely for the past couple of years and find them to be some of the most energizing and inspiring artists in Seattle. They are also nice people, rather down-to-earth, and engaging conversationally. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in a major museum exhibition any day now…

The installation they had looked like a half-of-a-living-room on wheels, dragged behind a truck like a trailer. It was parked in an open lot, and people were sitting on a couch facing the open wall of the room, and also facing a television, which was playing the movie “Unbreakable” (they had a stack of other movies as well). The room was fully decorated like a standard American living room, with a fireplace, coffee table, pictures, collector’s plates, books, easy chair, lamp, wallpapered walls, etc. It was parked next to the sidewalk, with its illumination and television powered by a small gas generator. People would walk by and look in disbelief. Some people looked nervous, as if they were intruding upon a private space. Others actively questioned the artists.

Other, more enthusiastic people (such as my wife and me) joined the fun. We spent some time watching the movie, eating snacks with the artists, and chatting away. We were joined by an arts writer from a local daily paper – she and I discussed the aesthetic merits of the movie and the interactions of the crowd. We were especially excited by the comments of an extroverted young girl who courageously walked up to all of us at once and asked “what are you doing?”

It was a fun night, an exciting week, and an exhausting week-and-a-half.

Website http://demiart.com if you are so inclined...

Image 1: Rebecca and friends at her exhibition on October 6, 2005
Image 2: Demi relaxing on the couch at the rolling home of Sutton, Beres, & Culler, October 13, 2005