Full circle back to BONFIRE
My collage work has returned to BONFIRE Gallery, this time for a good long while!
Installation artist June Sekiguchi with collage prints by Lisa Myers Bulmash
A little backstory: At the end of 2016, gallerist William Gaylord invited me to submit work to an art fundraiser he created to support “the resistance” to the 45th president’s administration. Half the proceeds would go to the artist, half to an arts and/or social justice organization. That event became “ARTRUMPS: Resistance and Action” in spring 2017.
When one of the original collages sold at the reception, that allowed Bill and me to donate to the Equal Justice Initiative. This month, Bill continued his support of my work: he bought prints of the original ARTRUMPS collages and had them framed. And now they live in the gallery.
BONFIRE gallerist Bill Gaylord points to his framed prints by Lisa Myers Bulmash
I’m happy to say I’m not the only artist Bill’s helped. During the worst of the 2020 pandemic lockdown, the gallery closed, like every other gathering space. Since he couldn’t do business as usual, Bill occasionally lent the gallery to artists who needed a larger, temporary studio space. Cool, huh?
My artwork is often very personal, but it’s also work work; I make things for myself and strangers. I’m glad to let them go to an art collector. They buy my art, every day it keeps speaking to them about something important, I have more studio space to make more art, and then a new piece speaks to another collector. Repeat as needed. It’s the circle of (an artist’s) life.
ARTRUMPS: sending a message
Which would you rather do: send a message, or collect a work of art?
Trick question. You can do both at ARTRUMPS: Resistance and Action, which opens (on purpose) on April Fool's Day. Work by artists around the world is up for sale, including the work of Roz Chast, cartoonist for the New Yorker magazine.
Details:
I hope one or both of my collages compel someone to donate.
And if they do, I suspect I'll use my fee to turn around and purchase someone else's art from the exhibit. Does that count as reinvesting in the arts?
ARTRUMPS: under attack, pushing back
A fellow artist recently echoed a sentiment I've expressed to others privately: "It's a paralyzing feeling when everything you value is under attack." Fortunately, I know some people pushing back against the paralysis, and they've invited me to help.
I'm honored and grateful to contribute to an invitational art exhibit: "ARTRUMPS: Resistance and Action." In two weeks, BONFIRE Gallery hosts a show that supports artists as well as activism.
Here's how it works. Half of the artwork sale price goes to the artists. The other half will be donated to organizations working for justice, equality, resistance, legal support and change. If you purchase one or both of my collages, you and I will help the Equal Justice Initiative keep children from dying in prison.
Watch my Facebook Page next week: I've got the list of other artists contributing work to ARTRUMPS. I hope our contributions will help in some way. Otherwise, we're reduced to counting the minutes until the current administration leaves office.