Free Hugs Campaign at LAX

37 Hugs for 37 Strangers, 1989

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With hindsight in my hands, I now think of this experience as my first ‘performance art’ piece. I had been studying the scientific benefits of touch when I traveled to New York City to run a 5K race at midnight on New Year’s Eve in 1989. It was also my birthday and I wanted to do something wild and weird to celebrate it.

So, I committed to roaming the streets, offering free hugs to anyone who would like one, aiming for 37 hugs to 37 strangers on my 37th birthday. At the time, NYC was quintessentially “New York,” aka as far from touchy-feely California as I could get. My Manhattan friends’ offered dire warnings for my safety. “It’s dangerous to get so up close and intimate with strangers in New York!” Read more

I AM: Resting in the Redwoods, by Roxanne Darling

I AM: Resting in the Redwoods

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This photograph is part of my “I AM” series, which are nude portraits of myself exploring the natural states of the female form as expressed in the midst of nature itself. As a 65 year-old woman and emerging artist, I’m curious about the lines between nakedness and sexuality, between self-expression and exhibitionism, between acting and resting, between body perfect and body positive.

The statement in 1s and 0s repeated on the image is the actual binary code for “I AM.” In computer programming, the 1s and 0s represent a binary choice at each step of execution: on or off, yes or no. This appears at first glance to ground the universe in black and white thinking, but in reality, the infinite combinations of 1s and 0s is what creates extraordinary diversity. This diversity is well documented in nature and is becoming ever more appreciated in humanity as well. Read more

Energy Chairs by Roxanne Darling

Energy Chairs, 2016

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An Interactive Installation

Original Artist Statement:

I am very interested in the exchange of energy, especially as it relates to the creation and experience of art. This piece gives the gallery visitors numerous opportunities to give and receive energy in the presence of the art. I have created an energetic space, to offer two “director” chairs, one each for directing the energy of giving and the energy of receiving.

The chairs are not fixed but are meant to be arranged by the visitor to create an experience with another visitor (itself an act of art) or to engage with the art in the gallery from the perspective of “receiving insights” or “giving appreciation” as an example. Read more

Roxanne Darling, Mistress of Her Own World, watercolor, 9x12

Watercolor Paintings from the 1990s

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There was a time in the mid 1990s when I had gone through my second divorce and was waffling between careers. I was living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, an artist’s Mecca. I signed up for a watercolor class in the evening, joining a room full of mostly women (mostly older than I was) as we learned about paper, paint, color, and shape. I had no art training whatsoever.

All of my paintings were made from photographs, except the “goddess” paintings. They were inspired by postcards I found on a trip to Maui. I loved the original images, and, wanted to use them as inspiration but not to exactly copy them. I wish I had the originals as I would like to credit the artist who inspired me. Read more

Tony Walholm and Darrell Orwig, Jurors for the Voyaging Exhibition

Voyaging, 2016

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My darling partner, Shane Robinson, gave me a blank canvas that he made himself on my birthday, December 31, 2015. He wrote a special message on the canvas and it came with these conditions:
“Make a painting by your next birthday or the panel reverts to me.”

Fair enough. The blank canvas sat in my office on the floor. Months went by as I started gathering ideas. Things coalesced in the spring and in the span of less than a week, I created this painting. It was barely dry when I dropped it off for jurying, 15 minutes before closing time. The next day, I received my acceptance email. #Ecstatic! I took the I AM binary message and stamped it on a black top that I wore to the art opening. I enjoy creative expression without concern for whether it’s “high brow” or “low brow.” Read more