Review=Reflect=Recycle

Susan Hensel Gallery Presents James Michael Lawrence

Opening Reception - January 9th 5-9 pm / Closing Take Down - Take Home Event - February 21st - 1-4 pm

"REVIEW=REFLECT=RECYCLE" - Art For The Taking

In the wake of a groundbreaking election, most American citizens are anxious for change, and some are even taking it one step further—changing their ways completely. There’s one man in particular who’s looking to give it all away. 


James Michael Lawrence, a local and prolific digital collage artist will present a plethora of work at Susan Hensel Gallery this January with the unusual mission to never see it again once the exhibition is over. In a retrospective, entitled, “Review=Reflect=Recycle”, Lawrence asks us to view innumerable pieces spanning the last fifteen years of his career. An opening reception will be held at the gallery on January 9th, 2009, from five to nine p.m. On February 21st, a take-down/take-away reception will also be held at the gallery, in which all attending are invited to strip the walls bare and take the artwork home, donating whatever amount one is able.

But why exactly is Lawrence looking to part with his work? Well, if you were to ask him he would say it’s about moving forward, and letting go of the “preciousness” he feels for his work.
A survivor of abuse, there was indeed a time when Lawrence made deeply personal work for the purpose of self-healing and thus felt very attached to his creations. Now retired after thirty years working for Hennepin County Library, Lawrence is looking to make a fresh start with a new outlook and has committed himself to a process he has deemed as, “detachment”. Lawrence says that his uncommon retrospective will be showing the "tail end of the personal identification with my art." 


Comprised of several hundreds of prints, Lawrence's show will cover the Susan Hensel Gallery floor to ceiling. A patchwork of pattern, photo manipulation, and brilliant color, his collage work is as diverse in appearance as his influences. For instance, Lawrence often incorporates elements of calligraphy, colors, textures, and methods of composition in his work that are trademarks of Japanese culture, a longtime passion of his. Since boyhood, Lawrence had been intensely drawn to Japan and had dreamed of traveling there. When Lawrence at last visited in 2005, he finally felt at home, and the trip served to confirm connections to the Shinto philosophy of nature in his work that he had suspected for quite some time. In fact, “Review=Reflect=Recycle” will read much like a Japanese garden; appearing to be random and polychrome on the surface, but in reality each piece has undergone careful editing and great control. Lawrence has returned to Japan several times since, and feels that he’s been reunited with his native land.


This retrospective will also mark an important milestone in Lawrence’s personal life, his ten-year anniversary with his partner Peter Wilson, who coincidentally taught English while living in Japan during the 1970’s. Lawrence and Wilson recently collaborated on a body of work that was also exhibited at Susan Hensel Gallery, “All Things Electoral: Redux”, a show centered on electoral politics. Lawrence designed anti-propaganda posters that featured Wilson’s writing on the subject of GLBT rights under the regressive policies of the Bush administration.
Could the future of Lawrence’s work include more collaborations and installations following the current exhibition? Lawrence says his next focus is uncertain, but he’s excited for what’s ahead. Feeling refreshed, and supported in his work, Lawrence is now ready to review the past fifteen years, reflect upon it in the company of others, and recycle it all back into the same world that inspired its creation.

Susan Hensel Gallery
3441 Cedar Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55407
612-722-2324
Hours: Monday 10:00 - 5:00 / Other Days: Please Call For Appointment
susan@susanhenseldesign.com
www.susanhenselgallery.com