Inside Out

In the summer of 2022, Wellfleet’s Off Main Gallery presented Inside Out, a site-specific installation, for three weeks. The work defied conventional notions of an art exhibition, reversing relationships to subvert the idea of how an art object is typically displayed. Traditional exhibits feature discrete rectangular objects hanging on a white wall. Here the viewer saw empty white rectangles, while the space surrounding those areas was painted floor to ceiling directly on the gallery walls. Artists have explored the relationship between figure and ground, between positive and negative space, for over a century. The investigation was extended in this exhibition to include the actual pictures, not merely the imagery within them.

The painting depicted Wellfleet’s Commercial Street as viewed from Cannon Hill, visible directly outside the gallery’s back door. The project began on June 17th. Over the ensuing weeks, details gradually filled in and visitors familiar with the area were able to identify the town’s notable landmarks. After a Closing Reception the evening of July 2nd, I began “depainting” it, restoring the gallery to its pristine white condition within three days, leaving no trace of the three-week event.