Only 113 days remain in 2020. This 366 day lap around the sun is about ceding control. And so, while creating the 12th work in my 20-year Guggenheim Painting Series — I embraced our new reality, and went rogue. This was painted entirely with my left hand. First with a brush, then with a palette knife. There was no plan… like 2020? It simply happened.
Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear, well, he eats you.
https://www.facebook.com/JasonBorbet/videos/10108198608120410
Being surrounded by the wondrous art created by my children, the importance of spontaneous creativity is palpable. Art, like life, is about routine, protocol, strategy… and sometimes, you must eschew the standard, and simply create.
the covid-19 pandemic
My brother, Tim, was scheduled to defend his dissertation on St. Patrick’s Day. I was due to arrive in Manhattan mid-March, and return to Idaho in time for my beer league hockey playoffs. As the world turns, Tim’s big day went virtual, and our season was canceled. So, my other brother, Dan, was kind enough to snap a photo of the modified Guggenheim for this year’s work. How shocking is the “CASH 4 CAR$” advertisement, stealthily lurking on 5th Avenue?
It’s not unprecedented, but it is unusual to have a significant structure erected in front of Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece. And so, I decided to capture this tomato growing hut, a marquee piece of the “Countryside, The Future” exhibition. This initiative mirrors a thriving organization in Jackson Hole, Vertical Harvest… both create pesticide-free produce with the aid of pink LED’s, to benefit the local community. Consider — an installation about sustainability… foreshadowing an event, where home-growing huts became the most in-demand item across the planet… coincidence?
My 11th Guggenheim was about quiet. Precision. It stands alone, in stark black-and-white, reflecting 2019. Like everyone else, the promise of 2020 was alluring… it would be grandiose. An unprecedented year of success and achievement.
And then, a Global Pandemic hit. The world closed. And suddenly, we found ourselves a pair of entrepreneurs, with three young children, navigating uncharted waters. You catch the chapter in those parenting books covering COVID-19? Neither did we. So, like millions and millions of other humans… we were forced to: Adapt. React. Readapt. Apt. Thank you Michael Scott.
This cannibalization of time can destroy… or it can inspire. Instead of being inside, stressed… we have taken to spending time in nature… exploring… slowing down. Taking back control.
And so, it was with this ethos, I went rogue, and created my 12th Guggenheim… with my left hand… without a plan. I didn’t seek the finish line, I invented one. Here’s to lucky #13 in 2021 — hey, how bad can the new ye… you know? Never mind. Let’s not tempt The Great Magnet.
New Paintings. Works-in-Progress. Insider Art Market Information.
Another newsletter? You got that right. I'll honor and respect your inbox, as if it were my own. I endeavor to share everything happening at Borbay Studios & Gallery. No daily updates. No weekly updates. Simply a message, every month or two... updates on life, creativity, and the journey that began on July 2, 2009. Let's be in touch, as the first leg of my quest reaches completion in 2026. From a studio in my 600-foot Upper East Side apartment living room, to a museum collection. Oh, but friend, that is just the beginning. The road is long, and I am looking for cool, sophisticated company to navigate each challenging turn.
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