continued
Galleries are beginning to open again.
XrE*al is coming to a close. It has been a challenge, an adventure, an accomplishment!
I found my art practice dysfunctional at the beginning of this pandemic. It was difficult to clear out my studio to make room for my 12ft x 18ft painting, let alone muster up the energy to paint it. You saw the three small paintings in an earlier post that became my creative lifeline and were the jumpstart to the larger painting “Ocular Fracture”. In past exhibitions I lit my large art from the front – this large painting is back-lit with color changing LED lights – fractures of changing color lighting. I am exploring consciousness in a seemingly unconscious world; reality in a world that seems increasingly unreal and yet more real or maybe surreal – XrE*al. This unimaginable world-changing, reality-changing pandemic has intensified my need to connect to mindfulness. My vision of normal is shattered – “Ocular Fracture”.
Like other scheduled exhibitions, the E* artists considered our options: cancel the exhibition, reschedule the exhibition (we did move it from June to August), and/or go completely digital. Regardless, we committed to a digital format. Unsure of a physical exhibition, with everyone’s optimism that things would go back to normal again soon, the thought was to carry on and be flexible. So we alerted the participating artists of our desire to proceed with the exhibition, even if it would be just digital.
We were lucky. The gallery opened. So we proceeded with a physical and virtual exhibition. Now, I won’t go in any buildings, so I did not get to hang, light or see the exhibition – only on-line. I did test hang it in my great room. When I have an exhibit, my entire house becomes my studio!
So, that is what artists do during a pandemic. They keep working; they keep exploring their artistic vision; and they keep sharing their work with the world any way they can.
The artgroup E* in conjunction with the Northwest Area Arts Council presented this themed all media art exhibition, XrE*al at the Old CourtHouse Arts Center on the historic Woodstock Square in Woodstock, Illinois. It closes Saturday 8/30/2020, but can still be seen on-line!!!
You can see the XrE*al art exhibition on-line at: http://e-artgroup.com/exhibits_XrEal.html
And you can see all of the XrE*al videos at: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7439721