On View July 13 – August 24, 2023
Opening Reception: Thursday July 13, 2023 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Visual Healing: Cyrus Fire
My contribution to this show was created mostly during 2021 after recovering from a bout of depression over the loss of our unborn child. My wife and I married in 2020 and she became pregnant the same year. Six months later we lost our child due to complications. Most of these images were made in the span of eight months. I held myself to a schedule of painting four days a week. I tend to work in bright colors. I immersed myself in creating textures, playing with transparency, and mixed media. At one point I ran out of canvases and while waiting for more to arrive, I began painting over my old unsold paintings. I wanted to work with what I considered to be past mistakes or missed opportunities. The goal was to do this without completely covering up the old piece of work. This is something that I have practiced in painting over the years to help heal myself. It was my way of accepting my flaws to have a second chance at becoming the person that I aspire to be.
Visual Healing: Dan Gerdeman
When my dear Mom passed, my friend Jean said it would be a solid year of grieving. I have lost family and close friends, but never imaginable, the loss of my first real angel. It was a solid year. Throw in the pandemic and the realization that our teen children were about to leave the nest was borderline debilitating. Grief presented itself in puzzling manners. The notion of time was suspended, unreal.
Loss was a negative force in my life. It was crushing. I was an insufficient dad, husband, teacher and friend. I stopped making thoughtful artwork.
Emerging from losing her was a gradual return from darkness. Some happier thoughts and big ideas. Maybe a return to a decent dad, friend, and husband.
The work for this show is my journey through the last two years. Stories about mortality, spirituality, and stressors. Coming to terms with loss and change, and rebounding.
Thumbnail image Credits:
(Right) Cyrus Fire Bruiser. 2021. 16×18 Acrylic on canvas
(Left) Dan Gerdeman A Year of Crow. 2023. 16×20 Acrylic