Thoughtful Thursday: Life, Like an Art Gallery, is Fluid
“Seize the time... Live now! Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.” Jean-Luc Picard
Opening an art gallery is so much more than hanging paintings on a wall.
All projections and business plans have been scrapped in the face of the coronavirus, as we scramble to tread water in this sea of uncertainty. Since March we have worked hard to create an ambiance within the gallery that honors the talents of our artists while celebrating the images they have captured. We designed a calm, soothing setting and as I mentioned in a previous blog, this space became my refuge from the pandemonium of the pandemic. In the splendor of each painting and the story behind it, I found hope! Thus this weekend’s good fortune of the sale of several paintings left the gallery walls with gaping holes like missing teeth in a smile.
This is a reminder that the gallery is fluid, ever changing in mood and emotion depending upon what art is hanging and the perspective of the observer and patron. And just as seasons or time of
day change our landscapes, “the beauty of that moment in time doesn’t depend on its lasting forever,” (modified, Marty Rubin).
Feeling a bit like I did when my children left for college, this empty-nester appreciates every piece of art I hold even if it is on borrowed time. As we rearrange paintings and install new art, we expect a new and different dynamic equally provocative and mesmerizing.
There is another message here, however, and that is how fragile and fleeting each moment is. So even as we postpone that purchase or delay that trip to think about it a bit, there is lost opportunity. That painting you loved may be hanging in another’s bedroom and the adventure you longed for is now the new refrigerator in your kitchen. We placate ourselves and soothe our disappointment that it wasn’t meant to be or it just isn’t the right time. However, sometimes to defer, shelve, stall and take a rain check is to lose. Take advantage of your now!
To take advantage of your now, please visit our gallery in Chestertown or shop virtually at www.lespoissonsgallery.com
