When I Was a Riot of Spring

When I was young and overwhelmed by melancholy, unable to establish any degree of ambition beyond survival, I decided to keep an ongoing report of my personal experiences in drawings and paintings as I worked my way through the shadows. I thought that this might be useful to the children of the future whom I knew would inherit our mental health crisis (as they have in spades). At least they’d know there was someone who was monitoring it, not keeping it a secret, who was intent on finding a way out of that labyrinth and not by conventional means. Last year I began writing and assembling this book, I’ve given the title “Under the Night Train”. Its cover painting is part of this exhibition. 

The paintings I made post depression era took directions I hadn’t anticipated. “Psychic Violence in America” came first; I worked on this for over four years. We’ve included two pieces from that series: Arms Dealer in Armani and Secretary of Education Eavesdropping on Her Brother in the Caymans

Then, with no warning, portentous aspects of my life began circling back to me via raw doodles and turns of phrases. I was roused to feelings/memories both joyful and absurd I’d been loath to remember. This exhibition features several of these automatic paintings whose subplots, formal titles notwithstanding, I’ve written on the walls.

INSIDE OF A WOMAN IS
a riot of spring
a love song
a night train
a diamond mine
a fallen nun 
a merciless critic
someone who knows
someone who knows more