Silas van der Swaagh Opening Tonight…

Maybe you’ve seen my stickers. I made a real push to get them on every lamp post & defunct emergency box in Red Hook. The time has come, however, to reach out via the long arms of the Red Hook Star Revue.

I am pleased to announce an exhibition of my recent work, housed in Beriah Wall’s art studio on Seabring St. The opening is 11/6/17 @ 6 PM. The address is 41 Seabring St.

My sleepless nights began 11/7/16. It wasn’t until 1/20/17 that I started to do something with these anxious hours. For the past eleven months (only 38 more to go!) I’ve been keeping my head down and holding my hand steady. I have painted a series of signs (Enamel Paint on Cardboard, 20”x 25”) suitable for a wide range of rallies. These paintings were created after-hours, in-a-haze, with little criticism requested or provided. The logos & slogans I painted were carefully culled from an ever-growing dossier of Wikipedia articles. Resistance isn’t recent. Fascism has been smashed before and can be smashed again. These are historical paintings. These are political paintings. These paintings are pop-art. These paintings are historical, political, pop-art.

BoCoCa, GAFA, FLOTUS & POTUS, ITMFA. You’re either in or you’re out. The dog whistles are always blowing. The IKEA in Red Hook emits a sound so high it bothers the teenagers, but I bet most of us can’t even hear it anymore. I heard Richard Prince created a faux-boulder and placed it in Joshua Tree, but nobody has found it yet. Just follow the do-re-mi. My hope is that there is power in alignment. Everyone wears a button on their jackets & hats these days. If you show me yours, I’ll show you mine. Protest is the new brunch, but fascism begins at breakfast.

The work is conveniently priced and all the proceeds will be donated to support the resistance (NYC Democratic Socialists of America). I am envisioning a 1-to-1 relationship; resistance for resistance sake. Patrons please, pick a protest & purchase a poster.

In 2015 I found a ceramic coin on a dusty shelf at Flickinger Glassworks, where I have worked for the past 3 years. I felt an instant kinship to the Give Money/To Bums inscribed on it, and given that I was born & raised in NYC, it seems plausible I had seen one just like it before. I have spent the time since this discovery helping Beriah make and disseminate his art. His coins are part of the resistance & I am grateful to him for giving me the space & opportunity to share my art with the woke people of Red Hook. —Silas van der Swaagh