The conclusion of an exhibition always brings to the fore what we call the “sweet and sour” — the joy of the showing/sharing (sweet) and the sad (sour) of putting everything in a box then back into the barn/studio.
The Great Wave was composed of powerful images with promise for the health of our oceans. Thanks to curator Ann Trinca there was a great line up of artist activists: Brandon Anderton, Tess Felix, Peter Hassen, Liz Hickok (and collaborators Jamie Banes and Phil Spitler), Hughen/Starkweather, Luc Janssens, Josh Keyes, Richard and Judith Lang, Courtney Mattison, Allison Watkins and Angela Willetts. Thanks to Mirka Knaster for her insightful review Art About and for the Ocean.
Unfortunately, because of the Coronavirus pandemic the City of Walnut Creek had to close all city agencies before the show’s end date so no events could take place in the gallery while the order was in place.
Now, months later, restrictions are finaly being lifted and we were able to pick up our work. When we arrived, the gallery was stacked with packing boxes, in the mess of transition with the deinstall of The Great Wave and the install of Grid Nest Nature opening on July 12 with new visitor guidelines, with timed entry.
It is has been and continues to be a fraught time but artists and galleries are learning to navigate during this turbulence. With a measure of good luck, good health and with the upwelling of interest in plastic pollution, we are grateful to continue to ride the waves.
We are struck by the rightness of Hokusai's enduring image — tiny fishermen holding fast in their small boats against the tumult of that gigantic wave, all the while Mt. Fuji forever and strong.
