Thu 3/5 @ 6-8PM
Last summer, Cleveland-based painter John W. Carlson took several trips down south to the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace of American blues. It was his way of finding some solace over the drug overdose death of his son.
“It was through blues music that I was able to grieve the death of my son,” says Carlson. “I was given permission to moan and weep but also to embrace this burden, and finally lay it down.”
It also produced the series of paintings that make up his latest show, Blues, at HEDGE Gallery at 78th Street Studios. In it, he looks at the connection of blues music to adversity, and its role in helping its practitioners cope with their hardscrabble lives. His impressionistic style incorporates oil stick drawings, impasto paint layers and collaged found objects.
The show also features images by photographer Shari Wilkins on abandoned homes printed on homemade paper, along with her family tree series. It will be on view through 4/3.
This week, Carlson will do an artist talk at the gallery, with a musical performance featuring himself doing classic blues songs, and Oberlin choir director Jessie Reeder and Kerry Davis performing gospel songs and spirituals. Davis will also join Carlson on vocals. It happens Thu 3/5 @ 6-8pm. It’s free and open to all.