I'm Having My First Ever Solo Exhibition! And Everyone Is Invited!

As I mentioned in my maiden post, one of my purposes in keeping a blog is to record my progress transitioning from amateur artist to professional.  Later this month I achieve a major milestone with the opening of my first solo exhibition to date.  (I have participated in many group shows in the past, but this is a first!)  I will have eight watercolors on view from July 15 to August 10 at Berlitz Language Center, located at Rockefeller Center.  (Rockefeller Center!  Cool huh?)  While Berlitz may not be an actual art gallery, it is a great location; and it is open to the public; and everything in the show will be for sale too!  Eventually (like every artist) I hope to have gallery representation, but it is my understanding that galleries won't take you seriously unless you've had at least some solo shows already.  I have planned everything out quite thoroughly, so I don't expect any glitches; nevertheless, this will probably prove a useful learning experience.  (Hopefully, not too much of one, though.)

My exhibition has a theme, it is fresh produce.  Hence the show's title, Fresh Produce:  Eight Still Lifes (See the invitation, below).  I think it is useful, as an organizing principle, to have a  theme.  It gives a show added interest and more cohesion than it would otherwise have.  Additionally, it is my understanding that classes at the Berlitz Language Center make use of any art exhibited there to practice  conversational skills.  (A notion that I find quite amusing!)  And, I think a thematic art show might lend itself more easily to discussion.

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My primary intention in focusing on perishable fruits and vegetables is to emphasize the temporal, though.  No matter what state I capture the produce in, it is only a phase:  A moment in time!  I think the short life cycle of produce, in all its manifestations, makes it the best metaphor for life's ephemeral, transitional nature.

For the most part, I am a realist----I believe everything is contextually dependent.  That is to say, everything is determined by its environment (context).  And, I try to suggest my philosophical bent in my artwork.  I do that, in part, through my matter of fact painting style, but mainly, I express it through my emphasis on the composition as a whole:  No single object is allowed to dominate the paintings; instead the placement and spatial relationship between them is given precedence. 

The still lifes in the exhibition have all been carefully staged; a certain amount of thought went into deciding which elements should be included in the compositions, and where they should be placed in relation to each other.  Yet, I intentionally avoided making them look that way.  Instead I tried to convey a certain arbitrary, non-idealistic quality.  I also juxtaposed items that are not necessarily related as a comment on life's seemingly chaotic aspect (regardless of one's best efforts, the ability to fully control circumstances is always beyond reach!)

My show will be at Berlitz Language Center/Rockefeller Center, 40 West 51st Street, Sidewalk Level, NYC.  Opening July 15, it runs through August 10.  Viewing hours:  Mon - Fri  9:00am - 7:00pm; Sat & Sun  9:00am - 2:30pm.