Yellow House Gallery
Jacksonville, FL
November 16, 2020 – January 11, 2021
This isn’t a retrospective. True, you will find a full decade’s worth of work in no less than seven different genres and material practices on display in this show, but for me, diversity and a crazy dedication to “making” are norms. I am inexhaustible; I can’t stop working, no matter the times and troubles in my life—I paint, print, mold clay, cover whole rooms with installations of paper and sculpture. I can’t pronounce a summation of why and how…but I can give you an invitation: Wander around the sculptures and the prints. Take a well-deserved pause, and ask yourself, honestly, where do you find yourself right now?
I have asked myself many tough questions already, so you are in good company, and Yellow House has given me the opportunity to display the works on paper (a burned-out Bill of Rights), cast iron knives and tools (a short love poem), the coral reefs (a paean to the planet) and the chains (a tribute to community), to get you to feel at ease, in good hands, introspective. Be ready for wonder. Confront your “now” when you look into those strangely altered hourglasses. See the joy that awaits you in the dark, when words, written by humans, glow on forms, “written” by sea creatures.
Time is of the Essence has a few stark visions in store for you. I won’t sugarcoat them. But truth and honesty are cathartic. You will emerge with a better sense of the political climate and the planetary climate; you will feel smarter about your current personal relationships, and ready to let go of past hurt. That is my hope for you because that is what creating this work did for me. Art makes it possible to tune into subconscious frequencies; it helps us internalize our dreams, actualize our gratitude, and make peace with Times that so often leave us wanting.
Sheila Goloborotko, 2019