Rove, Record, Unravel opening

My first solo art show opened last Thursday! The Rove, Record, Unravel reception was held at Northstreet in Madison, Wisconsin, and it included mingling time and an artist talk.

People have said my work feels familiar to them, as though they were looking at houses and scenes they’ve passed by themselves at some point. Maybe it has something to do with composition and scale, how they are always based on pictures I take while walking around, looking around. My friend swore he’d seen a house before in Madison, but I drew it in Milwaukee. I like this sense that my work is familiar but not known, recognizable but never placed.

The show will be up until mid-June. As commission requests trickle in, I’m trying to be more excited than nervous about the challenge of managing my schedule and prioritizing my practice. It will be difficult. But just like the show, I trust that it will eventually become something I’ve done—not something I want to do, maybe, someday, if that’s possible.

One thing I learned from the opening night that I’m taking with me: yes, my art is meaningful to me, alone on walks or in my apartment. But it becomes something different, bigger, when viewed and interpreted. I don’t know what will come of this, but I’m going to chase this impulse to be seen… to chase something bigger. I think there’s something important here.