All-member exhibit at Studio Gallery DC the month of December includes a mixed media painting I made many years ago, "Tent City near Target". My artist statement: In 2008, the American subprime mortgage crisis led to a severe economic recession in the US. Many people lost their jobs and homes, and it became common to find clusters of tents, especially in cities, where people lived. Over the next few years, tent cities began to crop up in middle-class suburban neighborhoods. I was inspired with a thematic concept on a routine trip to Target, where between the highway and parking lot stood a small enclave of makeshift tents. I began to paint these small communities out of curiosity. My respect for those caught in these difficult circumstances grew as I worked and observed the strength, resiliency, courage and fortitude of the people who managed to live on small parcels of land. The beauty of the colorful tarps and clothes lines particularly caught my imagination.
The subject of this month’s exhibit “Our Common Humanity”, caused me to reflect on the series of paintings I made on the subject of poverty, and recognize again how we all need to feel a sense of community, safety, a place to be.
