The reception last Monday was exciting. I was a little nervous, yes, before I walked into the room but I was so happy with the installation, nothing could have marred it for me. For the first half, the room was very crowded and buzzing with talk. Then it thinned out a bit. When I left the gallery Monday evening, my voice was hoarse.
During the reception people were picking favorites, naturally, and often asking me which one (ones) is (are) mine. I must admit, I prefer the largest ones. There is just something about the freedom they give me. Another comment I was asked frequently is if the color spectrum of the small (six inch square) pieces was planned. No, it wasn’t. It just happened because I had wrapped them that way (all the reds together, the yellows, etc.) and when I unwrapped them, they lay on the floor in that perfect order. Nothing was moved. They knew where they wanted to be without my thinking about it. And there was a perfect spectrum because I usually do paint thinking about a balance of colors in the sizes I am working with. So many reds, so many blues, etc. Otherwise all my paintings might be red! But honestly, I like to balance the colors I use rather than becoming too weighted in one area.
It did take a little bit of thought where things would go overall in the room, but once my (wonderful) helpers made the suggestion we used, it was easy to see it was right. I'm not good at those kinds of decisions. I can tell if it is right, if the painitngs are shown to their advantage, but the big decision of which goes where is hard for me.
Wednesday I went to the gallery to take some photos. (They will give me some better installation shots soon but I was impatient.) Some of the comments in the guest book were very positive, enthusiastic. But a couple were quite rude. “Boring” or “If gluing things to canvas and throwing paint at it is art” etc. I found it very amusing. It was in a childish handwriting, but I have no idea who wrote it. On the other hand, I received an email today from another (very good) artist saying how my paintings made her feel she had come home. And that she “was very moved by those powerful and warm canvases!” I would like everyone to feel as she does. I don’t have much say about that, how someone else feels. But I try.
There is great sadness for me now that I cannot share this experience, these paintings with Robert. He was always so supportive and interested in what I was doing, especially proud of the recent work. I think he would have enjoyed this exhibit.
Posted by leya at June 17, 2006 07:32 AM | TrackBack