Metes and Bounds

On May 26th, I put on my own show, titled “Metes and Bounds,”at The Annex, an event space in Minneapolis. Why wait to be chosen by a curator? I chose and curated my own damn self!

I did it for a couple reasons. One, I knew instinctively that having to assemble a body of work for a show would require a level of discipline and self-criticism that might not happen otherwise. Turns out that was true. In the process of bringing the show together, I must have touched each painting a thousand times. As I checked and double checked each piece, the words of one of my art professors, the intimidating Stu Luckman, echoed in my head: “You’re responsible for every inch of that canvas.”

Secondly, I had never shown my work in such a formal setting, unless you count the time, right out of college, when I hung some prints at a local breakfast restaurant. Which I don’t.

Working in a dank basement studio, I don’t have the space and light that allows me to view any of my works from a distance, much less together. So, hanging these paintings for the first time, I was surprised to discover that they weren’t as divergent as I had imagined. Secondly, I use a crap ton of green! I should have guessed, because the sludge at the bottom of my brush cleaning jar is a dull grey-green.

All in all, putting on a show has given me a boost of confidence. I very much enjoyed inviting friends to the show and talking to many of them about the ideas behind my work. I even managed to sell a few paintings!

I’m looking forward to the next art crawl in Minneapolis (if you haven’t heard, it’s a thing in this town), where I plan on renting some wall space to show more work.