Awakening to a new era

I'm looking forward to participating in this timely show organized by Green Chalk Contemporary.

AWAKENING
ARTISTS REACT TO A NEW ERA IN WASHINGTON
FEBRUARY 10- 26, 2017
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This exhibition of selected American artists explores diverse responses to a new era in Washington. Themes addressed by the artists include public and private reactions to the 2016 elections, the continuing effects of media saturation, the divisions of identity politics, the shifting status of gender, and the opportunities for positive change that may emerge during a time of transition.  The works include oils, mixed media, photography and sculpture; the variety of materials and techniques included in this exhibition illustrate how the interaction of the personal with the public can yield artistic expression. With Sharron Antholt, Kim Campbell, Kristin Casaletto, Peter Charles, Jamie Dagdigian, Susan Hyde Green, Peter Hiers , Anne Marchand, Logan Norton, Jane Olin, Robin V. Robinson, Temple Sisters, Robin Ward and Martin Webb

CARMEL PLAZA, 3rd FLOOR, CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA

My artist statement for the show:
I’m generally not a fan of Political Art. It can be preachy, and it usually preaches to the choir. However, If you make art about human concerns, your art is intrinsically political. The choice to actively value and pursue art making in preference to other life choices is also a political statement, whether you intend it or not. Therefore, in spite of my not making Political Art, I am a political artist, and I make art with a political dimension.
 
Last year I made a lot of paintings with boat images and thought of the boats as symbolizing travel, safety, adventure, and the very edge of our relationship to the natural world. There’s an appealing universality to them – every culture with water has boats and their symbolism is consistent. I, like everyone over the last year, have been seeing the reality of rising sea levels, increased flooding, and of course images of fragile refugee boats, all of which have added to the potency of the boat as a symbol.
 
My painting US Mary Celeste was made in the transition prior to the inauguration and reflects my feeling of the country being a drifting crewless ship at this time. The flock of paper planes is an image I’ve used before, and in this painting seems to represent a chaotic swirl of thoughts, wishes, ideas, or writings, and it remains unclear whether they are flying off the boat or are attacking it.
 
The sculpture Ark, a dark boat hull topped with a flimsy lookout tower and a lone tree, evokes notions of isolation, dislocation, and even paranoia. Maybe it also offers a glimpse of optimism too – perhaps an ark of hope seeking a new land.