Dordrecht residency, week two

I've realized that I didn't address some of my early decisions in the previous post, so I will do that here:

In August I had found out I had an exhibition set up in Berlin, that could actually open while I was in town visiting a friend in town. So, only seeing a map and some pictures from the website, I knew I had a decent amount of running wall space, and that they had a set of large windows that you could see the work from the outside, and that they would keep the lights on all night so the work could be seen even when the gallery was closed. Combining this with know I had a small amount of travelling to do with two suitcases of my things, I decided to work on drawings and paintings that would all be the same height, and would be a visual investigation of relationships between the pile and collections. The local art store in Dordrecht had 150 cm tall rolls of paper, so I decided on 75 cm, so I would be able to bring the work with me relatively easily. Also the studio had a number of random paints and varnishs, along with paint sticks, so I only picked up some brushes and enamel paint at a hardware store. I also ended up buying computer speakers for my walkman so I wouldn't go insane.

After going through these boring tasks I was able to really get working, trying to work on a number of strips at once, using the walls, table and floor to work in different ways, and allow some works to dry and gestate while I works on others. Eventually I found a ladder and was able to work three high. I was working from the prep drawings and photos posted here earlier, and thinking of different ways of layering this imagery, along with new things I was seeing while travelling around Holland and Dordrecht itself.

Here are some more images pulled from the second week, to follow the evolution of some strips, while others that were finished or going nowhere were rolled up to make room for new work.

Dordrecht residency, week one

Okay, so perhaps now I'll be able to catch up on things... I was also thinking that part of what wasn't working in the way I was approaching this before was trying to write too much on the spot, not reflecting back enough. Perhaps symtommatic of my general way of approaching work, or continuing to work without really thinking things through enough, a weakness brought on during three years of grad school. So, I don't have the luxury of working nonstop, so a refocusing on quality is in order.

The residency in Dordrecht was fine, though in no way was it necessary for me to be in Holland for this. The funny thing about this is that the studio is situated in a large former Catholic grade school, with a number of other studios that are given out by the city government. So, naturally, the studios are full of older artists, while younger artists wait out their deaths, apparently. So the older artists seem mistrustful of the younger artists, while the younger artists resent the older ones for making traditional work. So I was pretty much left to my own devices, which was good in one way but bad in others. Sort of like seeing a movie by yourself, and continuing to do so all day, every day for a month.

The studio itself was really nice, one large room with big walls to work on, and another room off of it, the size of a bedroom, with the shower, kitchen, bed and desk. The bathroom was down the hall, in a sort of creapy hallway. The city was nice enough, good for walking and bike rides, and close to Rotterdam. I did get out for a few trips, which made it worthwhile too, to check out a country I've never been to before.



studio


studio


bedroom


bedroom


I had decided, before I left, that I would work on a series of long drawings, 75cm high and of varying lengths, derived from the imagery of piles and collections I was working on. I was able to get rolls of paper pretty easily in town, and set to work quickly, not really plotting out much, just getting a feel for working.









After this first day or so, I decided to work over these, and starting some new ones on the floor. Part of the idea was to keep it loose but also to try a variety of media (oils and acrylic, spray paint, oil bars, charcoal, washes, varnish) and applications (brush, pour, spray, roller, masking out) and see what quality of surfaces I could get.


















I think I was also becoming more interested in color, in more vibrant, annoying colors, which seems to have come and gone in my work in the last ten years, it seems like it gets too annoying and I retreat back into more muted colors, monochromatic work, or to stark black and white. Again, this seemed like a good opportunity to confront this again...

Life is so funny sometimes

No, this isn't going to be some sort of Garrison Keilor post about that dude who works at the 5 and dime and wouldn't-you-know-it bullshit. Things here in Middletown have just plain blown, and I am in the process of looking to move to Phildelphia. I hope to start catching up on posting, but this is unlikely right now... more soon?