Coping Strategies

Peter Baldes, Maiza Hixson, and Myself are curating a big big show called "Coping Strategies." You know you love that title! The idea is that these artist have either made us cry upon seeing the work, or they are using art as a strategy of coping with some heavy stuff in their life.
Here are the artists that I have been thinking about including so far. I am not puting photo credits below the work, only the names, everyone is online, and can be searched for quickly. If I knew more html I would put links. Well perhaps I should try anyway.

First off is
George Ferrandi


I first saw George Ferrandi's work in lecture format at VCU. I cried afterwords, and I don't know how I convinced the faculty to let me get to talk with her. I was a sophmore in undergrad, but they let me talk to her! She was so motivational, and upliffting and just made me feel ok to make the work I was trying to make. We both cried durring our talk, on the floor outside of a critique room where someone else was setting up. I will always remember that gift of time she gave me. Her work is honest and deals with some pritty heavy stuff, all layered in wonderful solitary narratives that mute the pain while celebrating the lovely imposibilities of hope after loss.



The next is SEAN SAMOHEYL. I saw his work first at the Bizare bizare in richmond. Next thing I know this guy is huge in the world, making tons of these little objects. I have one that is totally a prized object in my office. For this show I am hoping to get some more figures from him, maybe a painting or two, and most certainly the AA meeting piece he did. I don't know his relationship with AA, but when I heard about the fact that he did an AA sculpture I lost it.


Next up is RICHARD ROTH, head of the Painting department. The piece I want for the show is a small group of shots from his work, "Grief." These are framed cut out photos from the New York Times of people crying. I didn't know he made it at the time, but thinking about it now, of course he did. It has a sensitivity and real interest in the world shown through a dedicated modernist system.


I curated CHRIS BARR before in a drawing show. In fact I never sent his work back to him. I totally forgot that I left it in my mother's house in Virginia. Chris' project deals with tragedy directly in his life. You have to read about this work online. If I even start to talk about it I will have to just quit writing this post.


Kristen Beal, apart from being one of my favorite people, is also one of the smartest ladies I have ever met. For this project she was working with the issue of time management. She drew while doing her daily exercise, a way of making sure she was productive and in good shape. I think every artist will hit their head and go, "oh, man, I should have done that." And sometimes that need to cope with a life problem makes the work that much richer.

I don't have an example of it online, but there is a drawing my dad did of a large ship. I am going to put that in the show in ther personal things that make us cry section. I think and hope that peter and Maiza are also trying to collect things outside of art that made them cry.



And last but most certainly not least I want to show work by Kate Bingaman-Burt, the Burt part is new, but the work is solid gold and all Bingaman still! Kate has a problem with shopping, and she wants to understand it more than any of you could belive. She is going to have a seriously huge show in February, so we won't be getting the mega gold that normally happens when Obsessive Consumption comes to town, but we will have some. And I can tell you know, it solves so many problems, and creates just as many more!