Another autumn accompanied by the COVID-19 pandemic has graced us once again. During the initial quarantine period and at the height of the pandemic, many individuals were forced to slow down and take inventory of the activities that replaced the social thrills of life. Alternatives to live music and gallery openings were filtered to online platforms instead of paired with cocktails freckled with laughter. A night out became an endless night inside and those former facets of inspiration began to dwindle. New forms of isolation, shame and acceptance became motivations to seek joy in the things that many had forgotten or felt had become trivial to their bustling lifestyles.
As the gallery welcomed guests for our reopening, many of our artists featured exhibitions that illuminated feelings, views and nostalgia coupled with the pandemic rage. Titles such as Human Existence, Cause We Need To, Peace in Ambiguity and When Time Stops became commentary on the lives we began to lead across the world. Amongst these shows, we saw reflections of how racial tension and economic poverty in partnership with major health crises caused our artists to examine their roles in and out of creative mediums. Each show demanded the same from audiences, a pause for gratitude and a new perspective to explore from that moment forward.
As the pandemic continues, gallery receptions have slowed down and become quite intimate, schedules for shows roll on and the weight of an ambiguous future has almost subsided. We take on new challenges each day and respond accordingly to what best suits our team and members at Studio Gallery. With all of the new aspects of our lives, it is important to weigh whether motivations for art have changed. Deborah Addison Coburn’s show, Ignorance was Bliss, encapsulates those feelings of motives since the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May of 2021, Coburn released these works to show at Studio Gallery and her statement read, “I see these pictures with new eyes.” Coburn was not the only one who adjusted to new lenses on life, and is accompanied by a globe of people who have faced old realities with unfiltered eyes.
So, where do we go from here? We take the many lessons of the pandemic with a new stride every day. We let the ignorances subside, and bathe in new truths about ourselves and the plights we face as a whole and individually. Once we take on those tasks, motivations will flourish in art and across career fields. If you would like to join Studio Gallery in celebrating art and motivation, make sure to visit us during our regular hours of Wednesday to Friday from 1PM to 6PM and Saturday from 11AM to 6PM. See you soon!
IMAGE 1: Do Not Divide Me , Chris Corson
IMAGE 2: Expectation vs. Reality, Lisa Allen
IMAGE 3: En bas du Val (Haut-Doubs, France), Thierry Guillemin
IMAGE 4: Back Then, Deborah Addison Coburn
Written by Staff Contributor Carli Gray