The Show!

This past Friday was First Friday, the day Kansas City galleries have the opening receptions for their new exhibits. This was my first time exhibiting at a commercial gallery (a gallery dedicated solely to exhibiting and selling art), and my first time exhibiting during the First Friday festivities.

My girlfriend, Liora, and I (pictured--Liora made me the silk shirt I'm wearing, the day before the show) set up my paintings Thursday night. Hanging the nine paintings took longer than I expected, because the spot set aside for my work, was different than I originally thought. The new spot was a better location, but I couldn't use nails there. I had to suspend the paintings from fishing line attached to a bar that ran along the top edge of one wall.

I didn't know what to expect the night of the show. Liora and I arrived at the gallery around 5PM. I had one last painting to hang, and I helped a couple other artists hang their stuff. We had a chance to walk around, see each others' work, and visit a bit.

The show ran from 6:00 'til about 9PM, and after about 6:45, 'til about 8:30, the place was packed. We had a DJ spinning some discs, and a rapper joined in later in the evening. The beats were a bit too loud to allow casual conversation inside the space--but the weather was perfect, so stepping outside to chat with someone wasn't a problem.

Lots of friends and family stopped by; many had not seen any of my recent work. (Eight of the nine paintings were completed within the past year.) The reactions were all very positive. Everyone really liked the spiders, but really would like to see the next ones made larger. I'm hoping to be asked to show again at this gallery, soon. (But not too soon; I need to get some new work going!)

I didn't sell anything opening night, but three people approached me, sincerely interested in my work. The work will be hanging for the next few weeks, so anything could happen.