Eileen Walsh has been promoting her next show, featuring D.C. artist Matt Sesow. Since the Gallery at Black Rock began, she has always had a depiction of Our Lady of Guadalupe over her door, and has sold tote bags with her image, in a reflection of her sincere feeling of affection to the icon. So Matt created a painting particularly for the show, above left.
I helped design her postcard, and Eileen took out an ad in the weekly, and we each chose “Lady,” as it’s called, as the signature art piece. Now Eileen’s getting calls from local Roman Catholics claiming sacrilege. But is it? The artist’s style engages symbolism in very specific ways. He explains it here.
His images aren’t always for the faint of heart, and you won’t find them on the wall of your local Sunday School, but really now. I have a feeling the complainers weren’t among Eileen’s customer base anyhow.
Matt, a self-taught expressionist painter, exhibits all around the world. Last month he was the subject of a solo show in Albi, France.