Sandy Gillespie
at the Alaska State Museum
February 3 – March 10, 2012
"What is the source of our first suffering? It lies in the fact that we hesitated to speak. It was born in the moment when we accumulated silent things within us." - Gaston Bachelard
Writing and painting have been a means of finding voice for me. From a young age, I explored thoughts and feelings through my pen. As a painter, words found their way onto the canvas. Often illegible, words create the texture of the paintings.
I work in the abstract because this feels honest to me. I have never had a desire to paint what I see through my camera lens. Rather, I paint to express what I feel -- the vastness of Alaska, the sound of the ocean, and a myriad of experiences and interactions that make up my life.
This exhibition incorporates three series of work: the Sleepless Nights series of oil paintings; the ICON series of mixed media works in homage to women writers who have been significant to me; and the Quotation series of smaller works, representing my ongoing conversations with Kachemak Bay in Homer. I’ve also included several journals that have been part of my process in creating work for this show.
In a year of personal chaos, making art has sustained me. In a time rife with political chaos around the globe, making art has sustained me. It is part of my daily life--it helps me know what I think and how I feel. It helps me keep my life centered and balanced amidst the other concerns of my days, including community involvement and earning money.
Thanks to Bunnell Street Arts Center, the Homer Foundation, and the Alaska State Council on the Arts for support in preparation for this exhibit.
Sandy Gillespie
2012
Photographs by Sara Boesser
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gallery entrance
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SLEEPLESS NIGHTS series
Alarm (cropped view)
oil on canvas
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SLEEPLESS NIGHTS series
4 AM
oil on canvas
SLEEPLESS NIGHTS series
Alarm
oil on canvas
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SLEEPLESS NIGHTS series
Mind Chatter (cropped view)
oil on canvas
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SLEEPLESS NIGHTS series
REM (cropped view)
oil on canvas
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SLEEPLESS NIGHTS series
Vespers
oil on canvas
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gallery view
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QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 13
mixed media
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gallery view
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ICON series
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
mixed media on wood
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ICON series
Woman Warrior (Maxine Hong Kingston)
mixed media on wood
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gallery view
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QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 7
mixed media
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QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 9
mixed media
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QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 11
mixed media
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QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 6
mixed media
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QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 5
mixed media
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QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 3
mixed media
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QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 1
mixed media
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gallery view
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QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 8
mixed media
QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 10
mixed media
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QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 15
mixed media
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QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 2
mixed media
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Contemplation Journal
2008-2012
Daily Meditation Journal
One card each day, when I remember, as source of meditation.
November 2011 - February 2012
One Artist’s Thoughts & Muses
A collection of thoughts (mine & other artists’) about art.
2001
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QUOTATIONS series
Quotation 12
mixed media
For Mom (Marie)
Made for my mom two years before she died (at age 93).
2001
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