Happy Wednesday, Artsies!  I have a little treat for you today.. Kaitlyn Patience, curator of the wonderful blog, isavirtue, is doing a little guest post for me today.  I think you’ll find her to be a kindred-artsy-spirit!

Hi! My name is Kaitlyn Patience and I blog at isavirtue. When I first discovered Lesley’s blog, Artsy Forager, I was beyond delighted because art blogs are few and far between. One literally has to forage for art amidst the endless supply of lifestyle, fashion and food blogs! Like Lesley, I share a penchant for contemporary art – which in this sense simply means art that is happening now.

In order to inject the world wide web with just a little more art, I created an internet gallery. This online space, in which users can scroll sideways through the images, is entitled “lowercase gallery” (link: www.sunnyoasis.com/Kate) because I believe “art” can be friendly, accessible and inspiring. I use the space to practice my real life curating skills.

Currently being featured in the lowercase gallery is Sara McIntosh-Robichaud. I worked with Sara in the spring of 2009 and curated a presentation of her MFA artwork in a group exhibition. She was inspired by the height of one wall and decided to bring in one of her largest pieces – “Sluggard.” When she finally brought the 95”x 48” painting into the gallery – I was shocked. There appeared to be a man in a halo…and also a penis.

Being a young curatotrial intern at the time, I didn’t feel equipped to make the decision on whether this piece could be hung in a public, school gallery. Despite the fact that the painting was clearly “abstract,” I had heard the gallery director expunge on the impossibility of exhibiting nudes in the space because it was a public gallery and children’s groups often visited. So I called the director and said “There is a phallic image within this painting we are planning to hang, is that ok with you?” He responded with “Pardon? What do you mean?” And so I stuttered “You know, like…a penis.”

The director came to the gallery to see for himself and said “Oh that? that’s fine.” And that was it. I was surpremely embarassed at having mentioned it at all since it was clearly a non issue. To this day I blush when I think about that painting but I remind myself that should the situation have been reversed (I.e. I didn’t say anything and he did care), it could have gone exponentially worse!

That incident doesn’t keep me from loving Sara’s work however. Just as some of her works are titled “A Moment 1” and “A Moment 2,” she has managed to capture all of my emotions ranging from pure joy to sullen despair. She makes unique choices that I admire, particularily in colour, shape and texture. Perhaps the reason I am most drawn to her body of work is because of the clean lines and the perfect finishing. Should I ever become a painter I suspect my obsessive compulsivity to be ‘neat’ would result in something similar. I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do!

P.s. Five months later the gallery director was assigned to be my thesis supervisor.

All Images via: http://saramcintosh.ca/work/index.html