Come see me naked and pregnant in Chelsea: Fuzzy Wheel opening Thur. 12/12, 6-8pm
Last night I was kicked multiple times from inside my stomach. I'm 30 weeks pregnant and have been thinking a lot about the impacts of pregnancy, parenthood, and childcare on an artists' mind and body.
On Thursday, December 12th, 6-8pm, the pop-up group exhibit Fuzzy Wheel opens in Chelsea at The Canopy Studio, 508 W 26th Street, #6E, New York, NY. I will be sharing new paintings, on linen and ceramic, including a pregnant nude. I really hope you can come see my work!
Making art at all is hard. Sharing art is terrifying. Gestating a baby is also hard and terrifying. These things are rewarding to some, me included.
The other day I started reading Second Place by Rachel Cusk during my 3-hour glucose test, which I had to take because I failed my 1-hour glucose test. A 3-hour glucose test consists of fasting for 12 hours, getting your blood drawn, then fasting for three more hours, getting your blood drawn each hour. If you fail then you have gestational diabetes. It is one of the many tests you undergo when pregnant. The result, while intimately tied to you, has nothing to do with what you did or didn't do, much like childbearing in general. Ultimately, life and death is out of your hands. There is nothing you can do. And yet, it is happening inside of you -- or not.
Having a baby is not for the faint of heart. But many do it and say absolutely nothing about it, especially to those who are not or will not be having or raising a kid themselves. And when we share too much, to those who haven't done it or aren't doing it yet, we sometimes get told to stop. I'm confused about this. Why aren't more people, who are having and raising children or on behalf of those having children, complaining?
I've been reading about how pregnant bodies are still taboo and researching my latest art crushes Polina Barskaya and Sarah Faux and Christina Quarles and Paula Modersohn-Becker. Modersohn-Becker is considered to be the first woman to depict herself pregnant and nude. She died from a postpartum pulmonary embolism at 31 (in 1907 but this still happens today--the USA has the highest maternal mortality rate and is trending upwards). Mary Cassatt never had kids. Ruth Asawa had six kids (two adopted, four biological). I'm pretty sure Dana Schutz has three kids: she lives in Brooklyn and my friend has seen her en route to soccer practice. I think about these facts often.
I've also been seeing a lot of art in person, including the exhibit Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350 at the Met, Tecla Tofano at James Cohan, Srijon Chowdhury at P·P·O·W gallery, and my own neighbors and fellow moms Madeleine Matsson and Molly McIntyre at Gallery198. I read The Painted Protest by Dean Kissick in Harper's (thoroughly discussed in one of my art mom group texts). While much of the art exhibited that explicitly depicts motherhood still seems to be dominated by men who have never grown a baby, I am finding a lot of hope from those who have birthed babies and are still making art seriously.
I used to have an obsession about whether or not an artist has an MFA, now I wonder whether or not they have kids, and if so, how many? Who cares for them? How exactly did the kid come out of their body? What pays for it all? Have they ever taken a 3-hour glucose test?
All of this is to say, my work is both very autobiographical and also influenced by culture, literature, and research. What I've shared is just a tip of the iceberg of what I consume, but I aim to digest it all to make good art. I'm very much in it as a parent and an artist. Determined to keep making despite constraints, but also very much aware of the impact of my body on my ability to physically make work, or even think about it. I've also had "For The First Time in Forever", my daughter's favorite Frozen song, stuck in my head and am thankful to watch The Little Mermaid instead when my toddler director allows it.
Nevertheless, for the past ten months I have been working with nine other artists (10 women, including 7 moms, 2 who also happen to be pregnant) under the guidance of Matt Phillips, an established artist and dad based in Brooklyn, in an art program called Canopy. We have been meeting most weeks virtually to share and get feedback on our work. I've had numerous critiques from these peers and other guest artists and gallerists, which has helped me push and develop my art practice. This program culminates in the group exhibit, Fuzzy Wheel.
Opening Reception: Thursday, December 12, 6-8 pm
Gallery Open: Friday, December 13 + Saturday, December 14, 12-5 pm
Where: The Canopy Studio, 508 W 26th Street, #6E, New York, NY (Chelsea)
I really hope you can join me at the opening or see the work during the very short run. If you would like to set up a private studio visit with me, in person or virtual, just respond to this email.
Thank you for your support!
-Stephanie