September 2024 News: A Message From the Artist

Hello, everyone, and my apologies for not updating in some time!

Classes begin tomorrow, and I've switched from studio 834 to 902, a lovely corner space with two windows. I've sacrificed a bit of wall space but the trade-off is natural light for higher-quality displays and better wellbeing for myself. I might even grow some mint for my tea, or maybe a small lime or pepper plant!

I'll miss the old space, but this new studio is so much more welcoming.

Over the summer, I completed work on Fossilization III: Stones and Bones, a roughly four-minute video that you can see here on YouTube; I'm planning to expand this site with a separate section for videos, and will eventually have it uploaded here as well. I've also finished Kevin's Kid: Ward to Keep out Critics, a sextych that I started back in April after the discovery that it's not common for contemporary New York artists to sign their work on the front. Some view it as a distraction, others a symbol of twentieth-century egotism; it's supposed to be about the work itself, not the artist.

I come from a working-class family of outsider artists and musicians. My dad wanted desperately to go to art school but his father couldn't, or wouldn't, help him make the dream happen. When he signed his work, he'd stretch out the "L" in "Rehil" until he felt the word was properly balanced; the longer the tail, the funnier it was. I acquired his trademark signature while growing up, became the first one in the family to graduate with a bachelor's degree, and then went back and did it two more times. Getting married, I didn't even consider changing my surname because that was my artist name. Every time I use it, I am representing not just myself but my mom, the ceramicist and painter whose practical day job sent me to SCAD, and my Grandma Betty, who had remarkable painting skills that she kept as merely a hobby. It took four generations of support to make my career possible.

I am doing what my dad wanted to do but couldn't. I am Kevin's kid. And I will not be erased.

It promises to be an exciting year for shows! I am planning for four so far, and am hoping to grow that number as much as humanly possible. I'm heading over to the SVA building at 209 East 23rd Street this Thursday to hang a display of works that were created in part due to my enrollment in Continuing Ed ceramics last semester. Hopefully it will help tell the story of how I transferred the concepts from my existing work into 3D forms, allowing me to expand my thinking about what my art is, and can be.

Packed up and all ready for transport.

I've got a group show planned at LatchKey Gallery sometime this fall as part of a DIY Exhibition course I'm taking; expect more information on that as it resolves. And I've just found out that I will be participating in a group show at CultureLab LIC in Long Island City! The show is Bodies in Motion and runs from September 26 through November 3, with an opening reception September 26 from 6 to 9 PM. (I'll share more about this in the coming weeks, and really hope to see you all there!) Finally, our thesis exhibition has been scheduled for April of next year. I'm really excited about this news because the previous two shows were held during the summer, and I think it's wonderful to have the thesis wrapped up during the academic semester.

So, yeah--more on all of these events to come, and I'll reach out if there are any other developments! It's tough to schedule time for submitting to opportunities amidst classes, employment, studio work, and being a long-distance parent; but I'll do my absolute best this year.