Mending In Time: What It Means to Collect Art During This Moment

“Mending In Time” came out of sitting with things that weren’t whole.

Not reacting to one headline or one event, but living inside a longer stretch where time feels fractured, layered, unfinished. In the studio, I kept circling the same questions. What do we hold onto. What do we try to repair. What do we leave visible, even when it hasn’t healed.

The work for this exhibition was built slowly. Paper, panel, fragments, repetition. Returning to the same surfaces again and again. Some days it felt physical, almost repetitive in the body. Other days it felt like sustained attention. Like listening as much as making. “Mending In Time” was never about fixing something quickly. It was about staying with it long enough to understand what repair actually asks of us.

From the beginning, this exhibition was shaped as a response, not a reaction. A response to time itself. Personal time. Historical time. The shared time we’re all moving through, whether we acknowledge it or not.

Art As a Reflection of the Times

I think a lot about responsibility, even when I’m not naming it directly. As Nina Simone said, an artist’s duty is to reflect the times. That reflection doesn’t always come through answers. Sometimes it comes through tension. Through abstraction. Through letting contradictions sit without being resolved.

The work in “Mending In Time” reflects the energy of this moment as I’ve experienced it. Fast. Broken. Soft. Extreme. Layered. Incomplete. Abstraction gives me room to work inside that without trying to clean it up. Fragments carry memory. Repetition becomes a way of paying attention. Repair turns into a practice, not a finish line.

This exhibition stays with what remains unfinished.

What It Means To Collect Right Now

Collecting art during this moment isn’t neutral.

When someone chooses to live with one of these works, they’re participating in the continuation of the practice itself. Supporting living artists means supporting the time it takes to reflect, research, fail, and return to the work with more clarity. It keeps the work alive instead of fixed.

For me, collecting has always been about relationship. Between the work and the person who lives with it. Between the studio and the world outside it. Between now and whatever comes next.

Closing With Reinvestment

As “Mending In Time” comes to a close, it felt important that this exhibition end with reinvestment instead of extraction.

During the final weeks, a portion of proceeds will be directed toward youth art programs and the creation of art kits for young people and families navigating ongoing disruption. That decision comes from how I understand repair. Not as something symbolic, but as something that circulates.

Art has always been part of how communities process, survive, and imagine forward. Reinvesting back into young artists and families is a way of acknowledging that the work doesn’t stop at the wall.

February 27

“Mending In Time” closes on February 27, 2026.

On February 27, this configuration of the work comes down. The works will leave this arrangement. This chapter settles into the larger arc of the practice.

If you’ve spent time with this work, in the space or beyond it, thank you for being part of this moment.

Looking Ahead

The work continues.

This spring, a new public presentation will open at the Solar Arts Building. It will create space for direct, face-to-face engagement with the work and with one another. The questions held in “Mending In Time” don’t disappear. They shift contexts. They move into shared space.

This exhibition was never meant to stand alone. It’s one chapter in a longer practice rooted in return, repair, and staying present long enough for something honest to emerge.

If this work has stayed with you, if it reflects something you recognize in your own time, I invite you to spend time with the pieces still available before this chapter closes.

👇🏾 Take a minute to browse through my exhibiting artworks to see how they might fit into your growing collection. Every piece is one-of-one, and once it is collected, it is gone.

👉🏾 Or, if you are an artist looking to grow in this city, book a consultation with me. I will help you navigate the scene and build your own legacy.

Whether you’re a student or a seasoned professional, gain personalized guidance from someone who’s navigated the art world firsthand. Learn how to refine your portfolio, secure opportunities, and advance your career with clarity and confidence.

Respect,
G

About Gregory

I'm an East Cast native transplanted in the Midwest. I'm namely known as a painter, and have exhibited locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

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