Postmortem B of A Sunnyvale

I picked up my paintings from the B of A in Sunnyvale (S. Mathilda Road) on Saturday. And while i welcomed the opportunity to show my work in the South Bay, i probably won't be doing it for a while for the following reasons:
1. it cost $100 and for that, the curator sets up the hanging dates and publicizes your work although i never had any idea what that entailed. Just for comparison, i pay up to $50 to hang my work in SF (often times for free) and for that, someone hangs the work, has a reception with food and drink, prints out high quality postcards, and sends out announcements.
2. maybe because i am a fussy painter but while the space at the B of A was large, nails could not be moved. Therefore, one was stuck hanging paintings wherever there were nails. So, that meant, that the paintings were not hung in the best position and not level.
3. Perhaps due to the economic woes in the banking industry, my impression was that the people working at this branch were very unhappy. They seemed rude to the customers and the atmosphere seemed very uptight. Eventhough they were relatively nice to me, I find it difficult to be in that kind of environment. I guess I am a fussy and sensitive painter.
It was a good experience and some of my friends and family located in the South Bay saw my work. The curator was nice to work with, just pricey for me for what i got.
I think businesses are lucky to have someone coordinate the art shows - i don't think she gets paid to do that by the businesses.




When i was taking down this painting, one of the B of A employees said to me that she was so glad this painting was leaving and that she "hated" seeing it everyday. The curator was looking a little horrified and identified me as the artist. And i replied that my paintings aren't for everyone and people have their opinions. To which she said the other paintings were ok probably because they had that yellow wall but that this one had a white wall and that maybe a different color would be better. At first, i felt bad that my paintings would have such a negative visceral effect on a person but on my drive home, i thought about my reasons for being a painter. I paint because everyday, i am faced with a problem i like to think about. To me, being in the studio is like going to the lab and working on a research project. Most days, i can't wait to get to work to see what my previous day's work looks like. Everyday i think about coming up with the "right" colors for my abstractions, or making sure i see reflected light in a still life, or trying new color combinations using housepaint, or doing remember drawings (i try to recall a scene and draw it) all this to become the best artist i can be. That makes me feel alive and grateful that i have this life. Showing my work is a part of this life and that means developing a tough skin (which was already formed during art school) to criticism. Actually, i have no problems with criticism because that implies critical thinking and is usually done without malice, but snarky remarks bother me because they come from a certain meaness. Her remark was innocently honest but painful, lacking in tact but nevertheless, a valid remark.
I recall seeing a Rothko years ago, maybe in my twenties and being very underwhelmed. Now, i worship at the Rothko altar and whenever i visit SFMOMA, i pay my respects to "No 14, 1960". It takes some time to consider, ponder abstractions and i hope the next time she sees an abstract painting, she will "hate" it a little less.