The Begonia
Crying Self-Portrait, 2023
The last of three shows I was fortunate enough to be a part of at Ground Floor Contemporary, The Begonia is a wonderful example of fluid and meaningful cooperation of artists coming together to give a show of work.
Pulled directly from their website, “Ground Floor Contemporary (GFC) is an artist-run cooperative art gallery committed to promoting and expanding the visual arts community in the greater Birmingham area and beyond.” Each April the gallery hosts a group show including the members involved from the past year.
This opening was such a blast. I was able to fly in from Philadelphia to attend because my best friend was getting married just two days after, and what an amazing weekend that was. I have to thank two incredible forces at Ground Floor, Sarah Garden Armstrong and Jennifer Marshall.
Sarah is such an inspiration. Her 80th birthday was the day before the opening and I could only hope to even make it to 80, let alone be thriving in the ways she is. Making work constantly, running a business, opening her home to everyone to share her art and her practice, the list goes on. She lives above the gallery and her home turns into a gallery for the group show every April and it is such a treat to get to share that space with her.
Jennifer is the Gallery Director for Ground Floor and the hard work she put into curating this show was palpable. Truly such a wonderful experience and a really gorgeous collection of work beautifully displayed throughout. Very proud to befriend and to have worked with her so many times over the past year.
Bittersweet to think my time at Gourd Floor is coming to an end, but it was such a marvelous experience and I am so happy to have attended this show. My painting Crying Self Portrait, 2023 was displayed, greeting us as we entered the front door. A night filled with many friends and colleagues reconnecting after I’d moved to Pennsylvania. Couldn’t have asked for a better time showing with Ground Floor for the last time.
GFC ARTISTS - Sarah Adkins-Jablonsky, Misty Bennett, Liza Butts, Patty B. Driscoll, Jonathan Evans, Elaine Farley Kinnaird, Catharine Friend, Sara Garden Armstrong, Anita Gómez-Ronderos, Renee Hanan Plata, Barbara Hirschowitz, Annie Kammerer Butrus, Leah Karol, Jennifer Marshall, Ryan Meyer, Ann Moody, Catherine Nelson, Tracie Noles-Ross, Miriam Norris Omura, Elisabeth Pellathy, Whitson Ramsey, Chiharu Roach, Bryce Speed, Tara Stallworth Lee, Rebecca Fulmer, Sarah West, Lauren Woods
STUDIO RESIDENTS - Florence Blair, Nancy Carney Barnhart, Melanie Grinney, Darius Hill, Mary Grace Wolnski
