so today i installed my paintings for the show at the gorgeous and enigmatically christened, U... This is my first 2-person show, fittingly, with a sculptor. the challenge of course was the reality of walls versus space. though it seems that reality has been met with aplomb. the sculptor is christine howard sandoval, an artist of intense focus and realization. i've been challenged by and interested in the pursuits of her work for over a year now. there is a ballsy, historical resonance to her recent endeavors and, at the same time a rather playful exploration of form and material. this isn't the "exploration" you might hear or read regarding some MFA discourse on culture and or what have you-- this is real exploration and real discovery-- the found object made real, if you will, etc, etc...

the work i've included in the show are paintings that have been worked and re-worked for years now. 2 of the pieces were started in 2002. the other 3 first saw the light of day in 2005. for any number of reasons they were set aside and brought back and set aside, etc. of course, today i actually laid some additional paint down after the installation... and then came back and put down some more. such is life. a painting is something that becomes what it should be. long ago, i gave up trying to "make" a painting. these objects are beyond us, they resonate of their own volition and our hand merely guides the motion. the painter comes to the canvas with an idea, perhaps with a compositional theory or possibility, but it ends with the painting itself...

the space is incredible. i stood there in the unlighted expanse surrounded by art and a weak raking light from windows shrouded in plastic. it was ghostly. a powerful way to end the day.