“Nearly Midnight” hanging with a cool cat at the Heartspot Art Gallery in East Providence, Rhode Island.


Pic by Christopher Mathews

I am very honored to have a mention in Amanda Quay Blount's spectacular book of the history of the Biltmore Hotel in Providence Rhode Island, "Meet Me At The Biltmore!
Signed copy in hand, the opening reception and writer's talk was as special as the book!

Meet Me At the Biltmore”
Amanda Quay Blount


Page 290


“After the hotel re-opened in 2021, it selected its first official artist in residence, Photographer, Musician, and Sculpture named David Lee Black.  Conjuring creative energy in the confines of the Biltmore lobby level gallery, Black drew upon the seemingly galactic energy that fills every crevice in the curve of the hotel’s architecture. Add a gallery opening, just weeks before the centennial anniversary of the hotel, Black transformed the hotel’s historic Garden Room into the backdrop for a grand spectacle, a paradoxical masterpiece of old and new. Lining the towering walls were Black’s photographs and sculptures, a carefully curated mixture of haunting and whimsy.  The stoic easels, though the obvious centerpieces of the show, we’re nearly lost in the background to the pounding soundtrack of the Providence Drum Troupe, followed by stomping circus performers and cheering acrobats, all of which exploded into the room mid-evening. A woman on 4-foot stilts shimmied by the bar, while a flailing oversized Martian-like creature stumbled around, seemingly mesmerized by the saxophone player. Black’s friends and guests were just as much a part of the exhibit as his photographs, and they did not disappoint. Rather than make a mockery of the historical significance of the Garden Room, The circus that unfolded seemed to leap from the walls themselves, and unleashing of the hotel secrets that yearned to be set free. If the Biltmore‘s walls could talk, they would speak the language of David Lee Black and his band of merry makers. Black’s Sweet Dreams Society event was perfectly Biltmore in every way. It was scandalous, it was salacious, it was loud. But at the same time, it was merriment and joy in its most simple iteration. Much like the exquisite architectural genius of the hotel, the spectacle of Black’s event could easily be dismissed as frivolous when, in fact, it is so much more. Each detail lovingly crafted, each viewpoint carefully considered, Black’s art and the art of his community provided a perfect overlay to the opulence of the grand hotel. Black will forever be remembered in the Biltmore‘s history as its first official artist in residence, and he has left very big shoes to fill for the next creator who comes along.”

You can order your copy here: 
www.biltmorebook.com

"Clearances" is currently on loan to 
Rochambeau Library Gallery
708 Hope Street
Providence, Rhode Island as part of their
ongoing showcase of selected work.


Clearances
36 x 24”


"When all the others were away at Mass
I was all hers as we peeled potatoes.
They broke the silence, let fall one by one
Like solder weeping off the soldering iron:
Cold comforts set between us, things to share
Gleaming in a bucket of clean water.
And again let fall. Little pleasant splashes
From each other's work would bring us to our senses."


~Seamus Heaney, excerpt from Clearances


11/25
​With the linoleum floor as the backdrop to my shoes and the percussion of small talk, utensils, pots and pans as the soundscape, I remember helping my mom in the kitchen with the family meals.


Yesterday was the my first Thanksgiving since my mother passed. At my mother’s memorial, I heard many versions of that old platitude, “Time heals all wounds.” Experience has taught me that time doesn’t offer a linear healing process so much as a slowly shifting perspective.


She died from suffering. In many ways, my mom and I share similar temperaments. After her death, I worried I was also destined for an unhappy outcome. This is one of the many tricks that grief plays: it makes you think you don’t deserve happiness. Grief makes us better equipped to weather the other life losses that are sure to come and I've weathered a few. 


Death is the only universal, and grieving makes beginners out of all of us.


Where to begin . . .

Honored that "Posey" and "Memory, A Lonely Observer" has been juried into the South County Art Center Juried All Media Exhibit! 
Helme House Gallery and offices, 2587 Kingstown Rd Kingston, Rhode Island
Dates: October 20 - November 12, 2022
Opening: October 20, 7-9 pm

Memory informs the process when this pair of shoes and cardboard case presented itself in a horse barn in Athenry, Ireland. 

I am honored that "Ouroboros"
has been selected by jurist Zola Solomente, Director, Arden Gallery for the 
"Memento" Exhibition 
South Shore Art Center
119 Ripley Road
Cohasset, Massachusetts. 
Dates: November 3 - December 17, 2022
Opening reception: November 3, 6-8 pm

The page is long, blank, and full of truth. When I am through with it, it shall probably be long, full, and empty with words.



From the Aloft Series, featuring iconic models interacting with the different, by design @aloftprovidencedowntown!
​

“Baby Steps”


Personal battles are like that . . .They look like they come down to one person or one action in one big, flashy moment, but they don’t.
Major victories come in inches.
Each action, each sacrifice, every small act of defiance adds up.
Baby steps . . .
Forward.

(Found objects from the late great David Lang Studio, Natick, MA)

We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory.


~Glück

(From the Brooklyn Model Series)