fauna installation.
this week i was honored to be part of a four person show curated by kara walker tome in west palm beach. the show took place at the whitebox at the whitespace, the personal collection of west palm beach couple elayne and marvin mordes.
the space was mind blowing. you enter from the back and walk into a beautiful, labyrinth of a museum-like space. white walls and gray floors act as a backdrop to the fanciful and exciting collection of cutting edge contemporary 2D and 3D art including gilbert and george, frank gehry and gelatin (among many, many others). one of the back walls actually turns on an axis point and allows access to the mordes’ home. it’s totally wild. a portion of the space has been used this season for a series of exhibitions featuring regional artists. the last of the series, “approaching nature” opened on friday.
the very good company i was in consisted of ryan toth, rick newton and bethany krull.
on a warm and fuzzy note, i really could not have pulled off this installation with out tons of help from my friends (and a lot of cooperation and understanding from the curator.) i flew in on wednesday, then second day of installation for the show. a.w. my bestie, was in philly with me so we flew down together. we got picked up by m.m. just in time for surprise brunch for 4 other friends who were in town. the brunch graciously swelled to include us and we got to breakfast on home made eggs, greens, plantains, potatoes, tortilla’s and beans (yummmmm).
after that we headed to AAA sod and supply, my “sponsors” who helped me out with my crushed shell needs. the owner there is such a cool guy. he totally remembered me and asked after j.w. my partner in crime during the 2008 10 x 10 show (during which he gifted a van full of crushed shell and garden stones). we then loaded up and headed to the whitespace.
installation went pretty well, we ran into a few snags but a.w. and j.g. were there helping out with heavy lifting and strategies. i don’t think i could install a show with out a.w. lending her good eye and moral support.
of course all this running around was done in the car m.m. so lovingly lent. a lot of other people where involved behind the scenes to make that happen (c.j., w.) and s.s. came out the day before the deliver my work to the space and i’ve been crashing on her super comfortable couch all week. all this not even including everyone who came out to the show, or my new friend l.a. who i’ve been hanging with all week.
basically, i didn’t realize just how much would go into making this installation happen. somewhere else i would have had to rent a car or truck, run around, hire an assistant (or something??) but it feels really good to have so much support and encouragment from my friends. it was highly tight, budget wise, for me to make it down here, and i really appreciate everyone who helped make it happen. :- ) love love….
