Thanks to everyone who showed up for the April 1 “Meet the Artist” event at Form + Content Gallery.
It was the first of two “Meet the Artist” events during my exhibition with local art icon Patricia Olson. It warmed my heart to see so many friends, family and art luminaries I haven’t see in two or more years. I got many great comments about my new art, for which I am grateful. You see, usually I have some sort of plan or agenda for an art exhibition, but this show just depicts images which have been rattling around in my brain during this strange and unsettling time.
Although I did my best to answer questions about my paintings, I found myself at a loss. The event attendees filled in the blanks with remarks of their own, and it was AMAZING. I wished I’d remembered to bring a pen and paper to write down everything they said, but my wits fled on the trip to downtown Minneapolis and didn’t return until…tomorrow maybe? I hope so.
My favorite audience comments centered on my mermaid self-portrait, a painting so new I delivered it to the gallery barely-dry, shortly after a major snowstorm, and without a working car (which is a story for another time.)
When I sketched out the painting’s composition, I placed myself in a bathtub because I’m a terrible traveler who always gets lost, so if I ever swam around deep in the ocean, no one would ever see me again.
Visitors to the gallery wanted to know why there isn’t any water in the bathtub. I wasn’t a valuable resource in answering that question because I didn’t notice it until they pointed it out. My failure to properly explain the lack of water inspired a lively conversation among the viewers about what the dry bathtub might mean. Some thought it might be a contemporary take on the movie “Splash,” which I’ve never seen but clearly must watch sometime soon. Someone speculated that I might be worried about the environment, which is true, but I’m not sure a mermaid in a bathtub makes a strong statement about the matter. Finally a curator/artist friend of mine thought it might be because I’m a born nonconformist and therefore always feel like a fish out of water. Because I love plays on words and even my dream symbolism presents as puns, I think he might be right.
I gobbled up all the audience participation like a hungry person at a banquet. I love it when people talk about art, especially mine. If anyone else sees the show and has any idea what I subconsciously meant about anything, please let me know ASAP.
The second “Meet the Artist” event is April 16, Saturday, from 1-3 p.m.
If you don’t want to risk being in public due to Covid, you can watch a recording of the March 24 Artists Talk Zoom event. Go to the Form and Content Gallery website at www.formandcontent.org. and scroll down to the March 24 announcement of the Zoom event. There’s a highlighted link to the Zoom recording.
Regular gallery hours are Thursday – Saturday, 12:00 – 6:00 pm and by appointment.
FORM + CONTENT GALLERY
Whitney Square Building
210 North Second Street, Suite 104, Minneapolis, MN 55401
One block north of Washington Avenue North and two blocks west of East Hennepin Avenue. Parking is available on street (metered) and in the parking ramp at 128 Second Avenue North.
Info: 612-436-1151 | formandcontent@gmail.com | www.formandcontent.org
COVID-19 Preparedness Plan: The gallery operates with a common sense protocol of masking and physical distancing. A copy of our preparedness plan is available upon request.