'Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow' opens at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, Old Dominion University
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, October 8, 2024


'Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow' opens at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, Old Dominion University
Matt Sesow, Trumpeting, 2021. Acrylic/oil on canvas board, 36 x 24 inches. From the Collection of Andrew Schneider.



NORFOLK, VA.- Matt Sesow wasn’t always a painter; he discovered his passion in 1994 while working at IBM, eventually leaving his career in computers to become a full-time artist in 2001. But by his estimates, he’s sold more than 17,000 works, due to his emotional, joyful and in his words, “obsessive” painting.

“Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow” will be on display from Aug. 31 to Dec. 18 at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries on Monarch Way at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. The show spans Sesow’s career as a self-taught artist, featuring works inspired by friendship with Baron and Ellin Gordon, and his world travels and residencies, including a recent week spent in Norfolk.

Early works helped him deal with the personal trauma of losing his left arm at age 8 after being hit by the propeller of an airplane. He expanded to painting what inspires him, from “trauma icons” to friends’ Instagram posts to war. The paintings, he said, help to calm his fears and nightmares from the accident.

Sesow and wife Dana Ellyn are both full-time painters living in Washington, D.C. While the show in the Gordon Galleries is a solo exhibition of Sesow’s work, the two also did a collaborative three-day show and artist talk in August at Vibrant Shore Brewing in Virginia Beach, and a one-week residency in Norfolk in May, supported by the Rutter Art Foundation, the University’s Real Estate Foundation, Arts@ODU, and the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries. During that time, Sesow walked the city for inspiration, then returned to a temporary studio space to create works for the upcoming show. Residencies are a technique Sesow has used to create in the past, finding inspiration while painting in Costa Rica, Spain, and California, among others.




“I pretty much get up in the morning, walk around and get inspired by maybe going to a market or seeing a newspaper,” he said. “Painting takes a lot of time, and I’ve got to hit it when it’s just right because I can’t just turn on the good emotional stuff.”

Sesow’s work is also highly influenced by Jean-Michel Basquiat, the artist who rose to fame in the 1980s for bold and colorful works. A number of Basquiat’s early works will be on display in the Galleries to complement “Life and Limb” and demonstrate influence.

Sesow has also incorporated a physical piece of Norfolk. Cullen Strawn, the University’s executive director for the arts, procured and overnighted 13 pounds of coal from the Norfolk Southern Lambert’s Point Yard, with the help of David Goode, retired chairman, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation. Sesow then ground the coal with a mortar and pestle to make paint used to create several works for the show. Ellyn has also incorporated the coal paint into her recent works.

“This is no ordinary exhibition, and it is on the other end of the spectrum from boring – you really need to stand in the space and see the writing, painting, and drawing all over the walls in addition to the works shown together, and hear some of the music Matt listens to in headphones while painting to understand just how impactful it is,” Strawn said. “Matt has collectors around the world, and guests worldwide can visit the show by using our telepresence robot named Gordon.”

In-person guests can interact with the Galleries’ MagicBox to read illustrated love-story booklets by Sesow and see a timelapse video of him painting Louis Armstrong playing trumpet in honor of Norfolk’s Attucks Theatre history. The MagicBox, new to the Gordon Galleries this year, is an interactive display case with a transparent touch screen allowing interaction with multimedia content










Today's News

August 31, 2021

Exhibition examines importance of artistic exchange in medieval Spain

Exhibition explores the patterns of medieval patronage through books of hours

Zentrum Paul Klee opens the exhibition 'Paul Klee. Humans Among Themselves'

Frick announces its most significant gift of drawings and pastels

The dogs of 9/11: Their failed searches for life helped sustain it

Joe Minter sculpture and second Rozeal painting enter the collection of the National Gallery

Thaddaeus Ropac opens an exhibition of works by Bunny Rogers

Laura Henno joins Galerie Nathalie Obadia

Tanya Bonakdar Gallery names Ethan Sklar as Partner

Nevada Museum of Art acquires sculptures by Rose B. Simpson

'Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow' opens at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, Old Dominion University

1946 Delahaye Type 135M Cabriolet Coachwork by Graber for sale with H&H Classics

South Etna Montauk Foundation opens a monographic exhibition devoted to Robert Colescott

Lily Carpio named Director of Finance and Operations at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

WWII medals and orders awarded to Robert Maxwell to be sold at Dix Noonan Webb

Daniel Arsham & Friedman Benda present intimate exhibition of furniture designed for artist's home

2021 Parrish Road Show off-site exhibition series presents 'Darlene Charneco: Symbiosome Schoolhouse'

Art Museum Riga Bourse opens an exhibition of snuff bottles

The Cummer Museum of Arts & Gardens appoints Kimberly Noble as Chief Financial Officer

New exhibit at the Missoula Art Museum showcases abstract works by Neal Ambrose Smith

Lee 'Scratch' Perry, reggae and dub wizard, dies at 85

From silk to sculpted horses: An artistic celebration at Marchmont Studio

Exhibition at the Hunter College Art Galleries highlights Constance DeJong's work

J. Paul Getty Museum to publish first book devoted to Nicolas Poussin's dancing pictures

5 of the most wanted services in 2021

Facebook sponsored messages - A guide for beginners

Benefits of Website Builders for Business Owners

How to Effectively Expand Into the German Marketplace

Business Consultants in Brisbane

Hair Crisis: How to Keep Hair Dry in the Shower with 6 Easy, Fast Solutions




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful