Matt Sesow

"Matt Sesow's nightmarish portraits possess a voracious brutality that hits the eyes like sand, but embed in the heart with unexpected wonder"
-- (Timothy Cahill, Albany New York Times Union, 2004)

"Sesow didn't have any formal art training, but his work is gaining recognition in the small but growing world of so-called visionary art. The genre -- sometimes called outsider art, art brut or contemporary folk art -- groups works by self-trained artists who deal with very personal issues, often their own disabilities... Through his art, Sesow worked through the emotional knots created by his childhood accident.... Sesow's paintings communicate the emotional power of his healing. One of his works in the AVAM exhibit, titled "Out of Water," depicts in loose, abstracted brush strokes and bright colors a scuba diver emerging from water. On his goggles is a line with three crosses that Sesow uses to symbolize the trauma of his childhood accident. For years after his hand was amputated Sesow wore prosthetics, but about a year after he started painting, he gained confidence and stopped wearing his artificial hand. Sesow feels freed now that he doesn't have to try to be and look like something he isn't. ..."
-- (Cate Hescox, Reuters News, October 2004 read full interview by clicking here)

"Sesow's explosively colored and powerfuly composed expressionist paintings in this exhibition are broad brushed self-portraits with a compellingly dramatic tension that draws in the viewer. Both 'Setting Sail' and 'Out of Water' capture on canvas and board doubling figures, expressions, and markings-- on the first-- and a powerful head complete with a characteristic Sesow trauma scar marker on the second..."
-- (Tony Harvey... regarding Sesow paintings at 'Holy H2O' AVAM show, Intowner magazine, Washington DC, Oct. 2004)

"(Sesow)...is a master of angular lines and jarring color"
-- (J. Bowers, City Paper Baltimore, Oct. 2004)

"Every stroke (of Sesow's) is like a cannonball hitting the canvas"
--(Chris Warner/Alcove Gallery, Atlanta Magazine, 2004)

"Matt Sesow, whose "Bunny Collector" could hold its own with Grosz, and whose "Hellbound III" posits a universe where Francis Bacon and Edvard Munch are the same."
-- (Las Vegas Mercury, 2003)

"The essential appeal of the outsider spirit in art is robustly exemplified by the compelling impact of a Matt Sesow painting. His finest works tend to gather themselves to lunge at you and take root in unguarded channels of emotion"
--(New Art International, Book Art Press. 2003)

(Regarding paintings done by Sesow for the Hollywood play 'F**king Wasps' about Alfred Kinsey, by Steve Haskell) "The set consisted essentially of a blue piano and several immense paintings by DC-based artist Matt Sesow, which were commissioned by the director for the production. These complex, savage, allegorical portraits not only represented but actually contained the entire psychological subtext of the play. Their vivid, unsettling presence gave the rigid agony of the performances a context and a dignity that despite their best intentions they might not have achieved otherwise. The art was there to say no, that despite the defenses, controls and masks, inside everyone there is a mass of turmoil and contradiction. The paintings were an integral part of the content of the production, not just its style. The said more about the Kinsey the man than Kinswy ever could. That is exactly what I was looking for at the LA Art show, what I look for all the time now. For art that takes the human condition seriously, and engages with it, even at great risk to itself."
-- (Coagula Magazine, Hollywood, CA, 2003. Shana Nys Dambrot)

"Brace yourself. Maybe even toss back a stiff drink before you go. Because to encounter Matt Sesow's paintings is to enter a maelstrom. Undiluted primary colors fly off the wall, blinding, dazzling. Frenetic lines thrash violently. And Sesow's disturbing, distorted images needle and jab.... Viewing the current wall of Sesow's work is like eavesdropping on the artist's ongoing argument with the world. With paint he shouts down and wrestles with his tangled personal and political issues. And we get to watch wide-eyed."
--(Laura Parsons, from 'the hook', Charlottesville, VA... regarding Sesow's 2004 show)

"Matt is a true Brutarian, a self-taught painter who, despite having his work extensively shown and written about, has little interest in becoming part of the art network. Sesow appears unconcerned with communicating in the accepted tropes of the professional; he defers to no recognized code, nor to the rules of any recognized idiom. "Crude!" "Unfinished!" "Aberrant!" the boulevardier may jeer, but it may well be that Matt's approach results in a creative range beyond the normal compass of our responses . . .Perhaps not, nevertheless, Mr. Sesow has created a fascinating body of work "
--Interivew with Matt Sesow from "Brutarian" magazine, issue #28

"I suppose everybody has experienced some pain and fear in their lives. Just as paintings of pretty flowers and sunsets with horsies make us smile and feel content, I want to paint emotionally charged intense works that cause discomfort or inspire people to challenge themselves. I had some unique physical trauma as a child that got me started on this path... I'm a generally happy person, but I have taught myself to channel anger and intensity in art. The best musicians and painters have done it, those are my heroes."

"Matt Sesow’s Artist Statement (2002)"



THE ACCIDENT

The first thing I remember was the feeling of knowing I had done something monumental, maybe even miraculous. It was as if I had watched everything unfold, made a calculated decision to bring me to this moment. But it was the look on my parent’s faces, their red eyes, the forced smiles, the impending truth about to be revealed to me that was the beginning of this strange journey... I was an eight-year-old boy lying in a hospital bed in Lincoln, Nebraska, I was a boy that had just survived being hit by a landing airplane.

From my viewpoint, everything was fine, I had survived the plane’s propeller striking the arm that fed blood to my dominant left hand. I had survived being drug over 100 yards down a grassy runway in front of my playmates and siblings whom had come together that summer evening in 1974 for a friendly game of ball-tossing called ‘SPUD’. I had survived the stillness on the runway as neighbors removed my shoes and used its laces to apply a tourniquet as I bled motionless. Yes, everything seemed just as it should as I lay in that hospital bed. Although I felt a bit groggy from the six-hour operation to reattach the arm, I figured I’d soon be back out on the cool grass on warm summer evenings throwing balls and running from propellers.

But wait. I followed the eyes of my parents and noticed they were no longer looking at my face, but instead at my very sore arm draped in a white yellow-stained sheet. Soon a doctor came in and removed that sheet. It was as if I was looking at somebody else’s body when my eyes joined those of my bedside visitors. You see, the arm of mine that had so faithfully guided blood to my left hand had just suffered a bit of trauma... we had been separated, briefly, on that grassy runway. And despite the best efforts of a terrific team of doctors, some, whom had performed ‘similar procedures’ in the Vietnam War, were unable to clear and reconnect a perfect path from my heart to the left hand. My left hand was now a purple-blackish wrinkled cold appendage. I remember being able to move the fingers ever so slightly. The next thing the doctor said was something to the effect, ‘Matt we need to remove your hand’.... my response, without hesitation, was ‘yes of course, that is fine with me’. Everything was going perfectly as planned. And so my fantastic journey begins.

THE INFLUENCES

Growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, I was lucky to live in a college town, damn lucky. I had been exposed to the likes of Noam Chomsky, ‘Raw Magazine’ (Art Spiegelman), college radio, and since I ‘looked old’, I could get into the bars (passing as 18) to see live music. It goes without saying that I was especially lucky to be raised by ultra-supportive parents; however, it was the influences I picked up from feeling a connection to the underground political and musical passion of the early 80’s that is my bridge from personal experience to art.

"Raw Magazine", a New York City art-school-inspired publication published ‘two to four times a year’ was the first and greatest influence on my appreciation for ‘meaningful art’. I used to pick it up when I was in junior high school (1981) at a record store near the University of Nebraska campus. From that I was introduced to Charles Burns, Sue Coe, Mark Beyer, and Gary Panter. Of course Art Spiegelman, of ‘Maus’ fame, was the editor and somehow must have influenced my use of ‘icons’ to symbolize everything from trauma, ignorance, desire, faith, consumption and innocence.

On the radio in Lincoln we had KZUM, an independent volunteer-run station, that featured a call-in show by a local anarchist. It was the Reagan years in Lincoln and most of the callers that got through would poke fun at the host’s wildly foreign ideas. And most of the time he didn’t seem to realize they were trying to be funny, at his expense... he’d faithfully labor through every ‘I think we should nuke Russia’ call and explain why nukes were bad (in great detail) and how the labors of the proletariat class keep the rich in place at the expense of the poor. Listening to the anarchist talk was entertaining, and probably the reason I started to pick up and read Noam Chomsky. Chomsky was, and continues to be, ‘the voice of reason and fact’ amongst the horrors of wars and the media’s Orwellian depiction of reality. I don’t want to be pinned to the ideas of any one political intellect, but let’s just agree that trauma is suffered on both ends of an M-16 rifle and original art should be affordable to everybody, regardless of economic class.

KZUM radio also played punk rock from Berkley, California (Maximum RockNRoll) on Thursday nights when I was a kid. It was insane music back in the early 80’s and was just about as foreign as a Nebraskan anarchist. I suppose the energy and alienation of socialism, punk rock, and even an anarchist, fed into my subconscious desire to belong to something ‘different’. Something that was different, and not related to physical disability. Punk rock culture flourished on the idea of d.i.y. ("do it yourself"), be yourself, and accept everybody as an equal... Back then, it seemed that the smart kids were the ‘punks’. Bands and fans would book shows, create magazines, and produce fantastically creative flyers to advertise shows. All ‘outside’ the creative and economic influence of the music industry. The imagery from the flyers , the collage-like rawness, and politically horrific, sometimes humorous imagery continues to influence many of my paintings. I feel that much of what I do today, from maintaining my own webpage, my pricing, to dealing with galleries and buyers one-on-one was inspired from the genius of the "do it yourself" culture of punk rock.

So my primary education in Lincoln was fruitful... And then it was off to college in Oklahoma. It was time to go it alone, with a nice scholarship from the Mensa society (for a paper I wrote questioning the ethics of nuclear arms). Life at the university was ecstasy. It was there that I was elected homecoming king, student senator, frat boy, volunteered at and got fired for playing punk music at a radio station, plastered the campus with my flyers, and ran amok with alcohol. Yes, and I got a Bachelor of Science in computer engineering, made the dean’s list, and landed my first job out of college with IBM in Washington, DC in 1988.

THE PAINTBRUSH

I started painting about nine years ago in 1993 as a way to be accepted by a group of artist friends and my new girlfriend, now ex-wife. We all lived in Washington, DC and I was still working at IBM as a computer professional. They lived in an ultra-hip Mount Pleasant neighborhood group-house, and I resided blissfully alone, in a small apartment with a neurotic cat named Rudy.

At one of the first "dates" I attended at the group house, an art-school graduate/housemate of my ex-wife’s brought out some of her school supplies to a large dining room table and suggested we all paint something. Hoping to impress the group, and not wanting to reveal that my true desire that evening had nothing to do with painting, I said ‘sure, I paint all the time’. That was a lie, I had never painted per-se. Sure, I had doodled and sketched and even did a series of pen-drawn free comic books in elementary school with my best friend Jack (we used to place them amongst the other books in the school’s library and see if anybody took them ... nobody noticed). But this night was the first time I’d be using color and hearing funny names like gouache paint, Craypas crayons, and Bristol paper.

That night was followed by several blurry nights. Several nights of several red paintings by Matt Sesow.

Those ‘group-house paintings’ hung there for years, the paintings became wallpaper, numbering over 100. The nights were long, oftentimes lasting into the next day... And I’d go to work the next day at IBM barely able to recount the output from the previous night. Yes, oftentimes it was just me at the table painting after everybody else in the group-house had long retired, and they were tired, of painting. I couldn’t get enough, I was getting something out of my system it seemed.

Looking back on those paintings, it is obvious to me that I was healing. I was taking about 20 years of bottled-up emotion from my childhood trauma and putting it on paper and canvas. Most of the figures I drew and represented were in various stages of amputation and uncertainty. There was lots of red and lots of black sharp lines and lots of emotion. The approving reaction I got from many of the people that saw the work I felt was in jest and sympathy. I never believed when anyone said they ‘liked’ what I did, how could they? To me, the paintings were funny, glorified my heroes, and disgraced my enemies ... I didn’t know much about art, but I knew I liked powerful and shocking imagery. My imagery and influence comes from a lot of places, not just childhood trauma.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Most of the work I create today is done on the floor and on easels from my 600 square foot apartment in Washington, DC. My walls are plastered up to three deep with paintings from the last nine years. The only framed piece is my college diploma. The only other artist hanging on the wall of 300+ works is a small piece by Sue Coe, whom I credit as being my favorite artist.

The Solomon Islands (with the Peace Corps), Bulgaria (with ‘Geekcorps’), China and Singapore (for my honeymoon), Mexico, and Belize are some of the more exotic places I have created paintings. I’ve found that incorporating the imagery from the people of the towns I paint in is a compelling way to document my travels and experiences. I used Cyrillic wording and signed my paintings in Cyrillic while in Bulgaria. I used English pidgin titles for my Solomon Island works and Chinese watercolors and paper in the Guangdong Province. Obviously, the imagery of the nation’s capital here in DC is prevalent in several of my recent works.



THE EMOTION

When people try to describe my paintings, they oftentimes use words like ‘raw’, ‘angry’, ‘energetic’, or ‘expressive’. OK, but here’s what they really are: ‘A failure’. I don’t feel that any painting I’ve done has ever been successful. I’ve just started, and I’m not good enough to tackle what I want to express yet. I have a secret list of paintings that I will attempt when I feel I’m ready. For now, I take the bus down to the National Gallery of Art, or the Hishhorn museum here in Washington, DC to see my heroes like DeKooning, Bacon, VanGogh, the very old Dutch and German religious work, Pollock, or occasionally Basquiat is in town... that’s who I want to hang with. I will be as good as or better than they are someday.... but it’s too early for that. Give me a few more years please.







THE END

So in conclusion, I see my current body of over 3500 paintings as ‘studies’ or training. I am not just a ‘self taught’ artist, but I am a ‘self teaching’ artist. I am growing, I am accessible, I have an education. I am not just an outsider, but I’ve lived in places you’ll never go. I am not just folk, but I’ve dabbled with the bourgeois. I am not just visionary, but I’ll paint one thousand Buddha if I feel like it.

Call me whatever you want, I am Matt Sesow.

BIOGRAPHY (Matt Sesow):

∑ 1966: Born in Omaha, Nebraska September 10, of American parents.
∑ 1974: Struck by a landing airplane near rural Nebraska home. Arm severed by propeller, re-attached at hospital, dominant hand amputated by doctors.
∑ 1980: Traveled to Newcastle, England where he participated in disabled olympics on US team.
∑ 1985/88: Left home to attend college in Oklahoma, received scholarship from Mensa society. Attained a BS degree in computer/software engineering. Began to make drawings and created/designed advertising for university; did not attend art school, no painting training/classes. Worked as radio DJ.
∑ 1989/92: Moved to Washington, DC; worked in an office at IBM as software engineer.
∑ 1993: Began painting in oils; painting on weekends and evenings; works inspired by childhood trauma. First short film, 'Seize the Day', completed.
∑ 1994: Short films by Sesow shown at Washington Project for the Arts group exhibition and selected for DC Psychtronic Film Society exhibition.
∑ 1995: Sold 14 paintings in one afternoon on streets of Georgetown; first time paintings by Sesow seen in public; Signed five year contract to be represented exclusively by art agent who bought some paintings that day. Traveled to and painted in Mexico and Belize (arrested in Kansas, completed 'Holiday in Kansas').
∑ 1996: First group exhibition at 'State of the Union' gallery in Washington, DC. Lectured at Georgetown University on his short films. Short film 'The Box' wins 'Best Experimental Film Award' from exhibition sponsored by Kaleidospace in LA, California.
∑ 1997: Moved to San Jose, California and began painting full time. Group exhibitions at San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, and San Jose Art League. Traveled to and painted in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore.
∑ 1998: Married, worked briefly in computer field. Traveled to the Solomon Islands as a Peace Corps volunteer; painted using acrylics and oils.
∑ 1999: Returned to Washington, DC, divorced, worked briefly in the computer field. Interviewed by Brutarian Magazine.
∑ 2000: Purchased and moved into painting studio in DC. Began painting at feverish pace and working full-time as an artist.
∑ 2001: First solo show at Corcoran Museum in Washington, DC: 45 works on display. Began self-representing and fired his art agent.
∑ 2002: February: lived for one month in Sofia, Bulgaria; painted using acrylics. Sold approximately 700 works during the year. List of shows/awards detailed below.
∑ 2003: June: selected by jury for first artist residency in Costa Rica; painted using oils and acrylics. July: conceived and began ’31 days in July’ project. August: Painted set for Hollywood play. September: awarded ‘best artist’ at annual Adams Morgan festival. October: guest artist at Kentuck Festival.
∑ 2004: First New York City solo show at ‘big cat gallery’ in east village. First major exhibition at American Visionary Museum in Baltimore (3 paintings selected)

Matt Sesow now works and lives in Washington, DC as an independent full-time artist.

You dropped your agent because you felt pigeonholed as an artist and didn't agree with the high price attached to your art. Did you feel that was a major risk to take?

The agent I had was useful for me in the beginning. I had just started painting, and really didn’t know anything about the type of art or artist people were calling me ( ‘outsider artist’, ‘folk artist’, or ‘art brut’). I let my agent and ex-wife handle much of the promotion and articles written about me. I was busy working as a software programmer during the day (for my job), and had little regard or confidence in my paintings. I found it funny when people wanted to buy my work in the beginning.

That was the beginning. What happened over the next 6 years or so of having an agent, I realized that my art was being taken seriously by collectors and academics. I began to understand that maybe I did have some unique take on the art world. The sales were ok (nothing compared to nowadays), and the advertising/promotion handled by those I let do it for me was less than innovative. I was being pigeonholed into some sort of ‘victim artist’ label… an artist that had suffered some horrible childhood trauma and now was exercising out his demons through painting… somehow I think they neglected to realize I was also a successful computer professional making around 90K a year.

When things started to go sour in the ‘dot com’ world, I decided that after being laid-off from my last job I’d take a stab at living off the art entirely. I paid off my 500sq. ft. apartment, sold the car, divorced the wife, fired the agent, and got to work, real work.

Firing my agent was a natural and logical step for me. I feel that agents, and galleries are fluid… I think artists need to move from gallery to gallery and not be pinned down to being represented exclusively by a few. You run the risk of the art being predictable and you end up doing it for money. I haven’t worked with a gallery yet that I feel can promote or tell my story better than I can. I don’t paint to make money. I paint to document the life I’m living and the social/political realities at this time in history. So no, I do not think dropping my agent was a major risk, instead, it was a survival tactic allowing me to continue to grow and develop as a unique artist.









What did you do to promote your self and the paintings? How was that different form being handled by an agent?

When I had an agent, the agreement was such that if a painting was sold by her, I didn’t get contact with the buyer… unless of course I had to ship the painting myself, on my time, from my studio. An agent ideally has a set of contacts, buyers and art ndustry influence that isn’t available to an artist who out on their own. I bought into that idea initially; however, with the internet and web, I found I was building a huge base of fans, contacts and buyers that had nothing to do with the agent... many of the people I met on the internet didn’t care or know ‘outsider art’ (the label/stable of artists my agent was promoting).

The major difference with how I handle promotion now is that I get direct contact with buyers, museums, galleries, and the press. I run my own ads and maintain my own website. My promotional and professional mantra is ‘do it yourself’ (DIY). As a painter, with all the technology today, the only way to go is DIY.





What were some of your motivations for removing your self from the 9 to 5 world and living entirely as an artist? Was it frustrating to split time between work and painting.

I had worked at a ‘dot com’ that went bankrupt and hadn’t paid me for weeks. Other places I had worked at as a computer professional seemed to have seasonal firings and less regard for personal over professional growth. I signed up for this ‘capitalist model’ straight out of high school and into college. So I only have myself to blame for initially buying into the ‘dream’ that equates success with earning potential.

I think the first time I realized I wasn’t spending enough time painting, and too much time at the 9 to 5, was during a snowstorm. The office was closed, but we had to work from home. Well, instead of ‘working form home’, I decided to paint. That day I created a great large painting that sold quickly. I don’t think it mattered at all to ‘the company’ that I didn’t ‘work’ that day; however, the painting I did is now hanging in a private collection next to an original Andy Warhol.

My primary motivation for removing myself from the 9 to 5 world was that I knew I could do better. That somehow I could actually do something that mattered, or at least would piss off my enemies, and inspire my heroes. I decided that working for the pursuit of money was for me, working for the pursuit of acceptance. It was as if I lived a lie every day going to work and pretending to care about delivering software to big banks, insurance companies and making my bosses look good. I consider myself a sort of ‘selective anti-capitalist’ now. Very little things in this world are all bad or all good; however, ideals and dreams unchallenged force humans to do some very illogical things.



How does painting 8 hours a day differ from 8 hours as a software engineer?

That’s an easy question. Painting is multitudes harder than being a software engineer. I enjoy reflecting on the ‘software engineer days’ of the 2 hour birthday lunch, surfing , gossip, writing documents nobody read, and cherishing those 10 days of vacation a year. The major difference is that if I screw around and loaf now, nobody will care, except me. Because I am my own boss now, and I work for myself, not for a gallery, not for a big-time collector. I have to know how hard to push myself. I have only myself to blame now if I fall short of my ability. Yeah, it’s hard.



Does your disability affect the way people view you as an artist? Do you get labeled as "an artist with a disability"?

Many aspects of people’s physical appearance effect how others may view or pre-judge. I am sure some people think my paintings are only successful because I have a disability. There are some shows I’ve been in that have specifically targeted ‘disabled artists’, and I think that is fine. There are several other shows I can’t get into because of my sex, ethnicity, place of residence, or age. There are plenty of ‘labels’ to go around for everybody. All the great artists had something ‘wrong’ with them.




Do you think your life would have been different if you had not experienced such a traumatic event? Would the artist still have emerged?


I am sure my life would have been very different if I hadn’t been hit by an airplane. But I don’t think it would have been any better. I really get a kick out of people that say they ‘paint like me’ or ask me ‘how do you do it, how can I paint like you?’. I can’t paint like them, so I wish they would just try to take from their own experiences instead of trying to duplicate mine.
Without the traumatic event maybe I would have still been an artist, but I doubt it. I’m sure I’d be happy, but I’m happy now…. So probably my life wouldn’t be as fulfilling as it is now.





You lived in Bulgaria for a month, the paintings you did there are very intense and distinct. Where you painting in response to the visual atmosphere of Bulgaria, or were the paintings related more to your emotional state at the time.

When I was in Bulgaria, I was sent there to do volunteer work for Bulgarian software firms. I took the opportunity to paint in the evenings and weekends. I mostly used material/paints that I bought in the capital city of Sofia. All the images I painted there were taken from Bulgarian culture. I would use local papers and magazines for imagery, the catholic church, and porno ads.

Why did you decide to retire most of those paintings?

I decided to retire some of my paintings in order to cut down on the number of paintings I have available for sale at any one time. I decided to retire sets of paintings from moments in my life I will unlikely return to. Some series I retired include the Bulgaria paintings, paintings I did while in the Peace Corps (Solomon Islands), a series I did September 10th, 2001 (my birthday, the eve of 911), and every painting before 1998.



Do you get sucked into the absurd sensational fabric of the media when you 're working on the "31 Days in July" Project? How do you choose which articles to use?

The idea behind the ’31 Days in July’ project is to create a painting in response to the cover of the print edition of the Washington Post each day. The idea is to take a historical snapshot, with a painting, that reflects what was covered (or wasn’t) by one of the nation’s leading sources of information. A paper that is read widely by some of the most powerful people in the world. Generally, I will seek out alternative sources of news the day before and during each day of painting, paying close attention to the severity of the news and historical significance. Usually an obvious omission from the front page will ‘win the day’ for a painting idea; however, sometimes one of the cover stories is so absurd (like the coverage of a professional football team), that I will chose it as my inspiration. At the end of the month, I have thirty-one 30” x 40” paintings.




Are you still making short films? Are there similarities in the way you approach conceiving a film compared to the way you conceive a painting?

I haven’t completed a short film since I started working as a painter full-time. That is almost three years ago. I think the films were something I could do when my free-time was truly free. Now I take every free moment that isn’t done actually painting, to do something painting related (answering emails, packaging sold paintings, answering interviews, etc.)

The approach I took to the films when I was doing them was extremely expressionist. The act of shooting the film, and the dialogues were free-form in most cases. When I would edit the film, it was quite like painting in that much of what is shown and heard is the result of quick and on the spot decisions. Many times, the ability of my computer affected the quality and cadence of the film.





Has success changed the way you work?

Success has caused me to work harder. I try to update my webpage constantly with new work. I track statistics on my webpage and see that around 500 unique people visit daily. So I guess I feel that lots of people are watching what I’m doing and how I’m doing. I am extremely motivated by people that hope for or predict my failure.




Do you ever feel pressure to keep creating?

I have always been ‘over the top’ with things I feel passionately about. As long as I enjoy painting, I will keep doing it. I am afraid that I may reach some of my goals too early in life, and that makes me worry that success may take time away from my time available for painting.



It sounds like you live and work outside the 'scene' that typically comes with being an artist. What is your view of that world?

i feel there are a multitude of arts, and each type of art has several scenes. I suppose the scene that most people associate with painters is a scene of gallery openings, coffee shops, and lots of ‘hanging out’. I am about as far from that as possible. I do go to my own openings, but I rarely see other people’s work. I spend most every day by myself, waiting for the paintings to come and taking the time that each painting demands.


There are a lot of intelligent sounding words someone could use to describe and complement your paintings, but i think the only one that really works is "BALLS". Was it difficult to dig through the layers of your life and expose such a visceral part of your self? What did you have to sacrifice to achieve that?


I went head first into my painting from the beginning. A lot of the paintings are created listening to the same music I enjoyed in the 1980’s. much of the music that inspires my work was considered ‘punk’… political, humorous and intense. I try to capture that fury in my paintings. I try to see my life as an intense humorous chaotic painting… but yet somehow, still in control.
I have sacrificed very little to paint personal aspects of my life. If I find some painting may be too personal or angry in it’s meaning, oftentimes I’ll soften it up with bunnies and angels, or give it a goofy title.



Since you have been on this path as an artist gaining so much attention, is there a particular moment or situation that occurred which still amazes you?

The first time I ever tried to sell some of my paintings was at a street festival in Georgetown here in DC. It was in 1995 and I had brought around 40 from the hundreds of paintings with me that I had completed since 1993. I hadn’t sold any (they were works on canvas for $40) during the first 2 hours, so I decided to go home. I was convinced to stick around for a few more minutes, and ended up selling 14 or so in the next half hour. The first person to buy one of my paintings turned out to be my agent for six years.




Do you have any projects or shows lined up for the fall?

Towards the end of July I’ll have a solo show opening here in Washington, DC. After the ’31 days in July’ are over, I have a two-person show that opens at the ‘Alcove’ gallery in Atlanta on August 7th. In September, I’ll be participating in the annual ‘Adams Morgan Festival’ that I won the ‘best artist’ award for last year. October I’ll be one of the guest artists at the Kentuck festival in Alabama. Three of my paintings were selected for the next exhibition at the American Visionary Museum in Baltimore (through October 2005). November I’ll have the cover of ‘LeftTurn’ magazine. December I am participating in a group show in Paris, France.

Thanks for letting me talk about myself. I hope it was interesting, and please encourage anybody that might have questions to feel free to contact me at And, as always, see for new paintings, all the time.

∑ SOLO SHOW: New York City (east village), ‘Big Cat Gallery’ (“hundreds of recent paintings”), January 2004
∑ SOLO SHOW: Corcoran Museum “White Walls” Gallery , Washington, DC (2001) , over 45 works
∑ SOLO SHOW: CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, @ “Nature Visionary Art” GALLERY, April-MAY 2004.
∑ SOLO SHOW, windows at 14th and G downtown, 30+ works, Feb - April 2002 (Washington, DC)
∑ SOLO SHOW: HOLLYWOOD: “the Theater of Note”, sesow painted the backdrop for the production of ‘f**king wasps’ (5 very large canvas)
∑ SOLO SHOW: ‘CDW’, 30th and M Street in Georgetown: Jan6 2002 thru March3 (Washington, DC)
∑ Group Show: “OUTSIDE/IN: Visionary Artists and Virginia Collectors”, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia (Virginia Beach)
∑ SOLO SHOW: ‘the ottobar’, March 2003, over 20 works (Baltimore, MD)
∑ SOLO SHOW: at Aroma in Washington, DC. 30+ works , March14 thru May 14 2003


∑ “Hell Bound” and “Bunny Collector” selected for “Revelations and Reflections of American Self-Taught Artists” ExhibitsUSA museum exhibit, April 2002 thru May 2005
∑ Sept 01, 2002 - Oct 20, 2002: The Arkansas Arts Center (Little Rock, AK)
∑ Nov 10, 2002 - Jan7, 2003: Stedman Art Gallery (Camden, New Jersey)
∑ Jan 28, 2003 - Mar 16, 2003: Southern Ohio Museum (Porstmouth, Ohio)
∑ June 16, 2003 - Aug 11, 2003: Union College (Schnectady, NY)
∑ Sept 1, 2003 - Oct 20, 2003: UNLV Barrick Museum (Las Vegas, NV)
∑ Feb 1, 2004 - Mar 20, 2004: Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art (Great Falls, Montana)
∑ Apr 6, 2004 - Aug 11, 2004: The Middlebury College Museum of Art (Middlebury, Vermont)
∑ Sept 01, 2004 - Oct 20, 2004: Hearst Art Gallery (Moraga, CA)
∑ Nov 10, 2004 - Jan 07, 2005: Loveland Museum and Gallery (Loveland, Colorado)
∑ Apr 06, 2005 - May 25, 2005: Museum of the Southwest (Midland, TX)
∑ Jun 16, 2005 - Aug 14, 2005: Art Museum of Southwest Texas (Beaumont, TX)
∑ FIRST PLACE (best artist): 25th annual Adams Morgan Festival 2003. September 6-7 2003, Washington, DC
∑ BEST IN SHOW: Awarded ‘Best in Show’, national juried exhibition (‘Before and After’ + 2 others), at Viewpoint Gallery showing in Schenectady,
New York (May-July 2002) Curator: Ruth Daly
∑ JUROR’S CHOICE AWARD: Awarded ‘Best in Show’, national juried exhibition (‘Nobody’s Pushover, etc), at Viewpoint Gallery showing in
Schenectady, New York (May-July 2003)
∑ 2ND PLACE AWARD: “Adams Morgan Day” Washington, DC (Sept 7 - 8, 2002)
∑ Group Show: “ART AGAINST WAR” show in Mumbai, India (formerly Bombay),in the Grand Atrium of the Majlis Cultural Center (january6-jan21 2004), curated by Frank Shifreen. Sesow had ‘march madness’ and other paintings converted to posters by show organizers (3’x4’ upto 7’x27’)

∑ Group Show: “In Response”, national juried exhibition, (“To Hell and Back” and “America Recovers”), SCAD Red Gallery, Savannah GA(Sept4-Nov5 2002) Jurors: Robin Cembalest(executive editor of ArtNews), Jeremy Strick (director of Museum of Contemporary Art, LA)
∑ “Join Hands” selected for “Breaking through the Walls of Bias” show at Hofstra Univ. April-August 2002 (New York) Curator: Marcus Schubert
∑ Group Show: “9/11 - Memorial Exhibition”, 291 Broadway at Reade, NYC, (Sept11-Sept30 2002), New York City
∑ Group Show: “ARTISTS WITH (dis)ABILITIES”, America Oh Yes!, Washington, DC (Sept5-Nov30 2002)
∑ Group Show: ‘Political Bodies’, SEATTLE, WA: sponsored by CARA (Communities Against Rape and Abuse), show runs Jan13-Feb23, 2003

∑ SOLO SHOW: New York City (east village), ‘Big Cat Gallery’ (“hundreds of recent paintings”), January 2004
∑ SOLO SHOW: Corcoran Museum “White Walls” Gallery , Washington, DC (2001) , over 45 works
∑ SOLO SHOW: CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, @ “Nature Visionary Art” GALLERY, April-MAY 2004.
∑ SOLO SHOW, windows at 14th and G downtown, 30+ works, Feb - April 2002 (Washington, DC)
∑ SOLO SHOW: HOLLYWOOD: “the Theater of Note”, sesow painted the backdrop for the production of ‘f**king wasps’ (5 very large canvas)
∑ SOLO SHOW: ‘CDW’, 30th and M Street in Georgetown: Jan6 2002 thru March3 (Washington, DC)
∑ Group Show: “OUTSIDE/IN: Visionary Artists and Virginia Collectors”, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia (Virginia Beach)
∑ SOLO SHOW: ‘the ottobar’, March 2003, over 20 works (Baltimore, MD)
∑ SOLO SHOW: at Aroma in Washington, DC. 30+ works , March14 thru May 14 2003


∑ “Hell Bound” and “Bunny Collector” selected for “Revelations and Reflections of American Self-Taught Artists” ExhibitsUSA museum exhibit, April 2002 thru May 2005
∑ Sept 01, 2002 - Oct 20, 2002: The Arkansas Arts Center (Little Rock, AK)
∑ Nov 10, 2002 - Jan7, 2003: Stedman Art Gallery (Camden, New Jersey)
∑ Jan 28, 2003 - Mar 16, 2003: Southern Ohio Museum (Porstmouth, Ohio)
∑ June 16, 2003 - Aug 11, 2003: Union College (Schnectady, NY)
∑ Sept 1, 2003 - Oct 20, 2003: UNLV Barrick Museum (Las Vegas, NV)
∑ Feb 1, 2004 - Mar 20, 2004: Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art (Great Falls, Montana)
∑ Apr 6, 2004 - Aug 11, 2004: The Middlebury College Museum of Art (Middlebury, Vermont)
∑ Sept 01, 2004 - Oct 20, 2004: Hearst Art Gallery (Moraga, CA)
∑ Nov 10, 2004 - Jan 07, 2005: Loveland Museum and Gallery (Loveland, Colorado)
∑ Apr 06, 2005 - May 25, 2005: Museum of the Southwest (Midland, TX)
∑ Jun 16, 2005 - Aug 14, 2005: Art Museum of Southwest Texas (Beaumont, TX)
∑ FIRST PLACE (best artist): 25th annual Adams Morgan Festival 2003. September 6-7 2003, Washington, DC
∑ BEST IN SHOW: Awarded ‘Best in Show’, national juried exhibition (‘Before and After’ + 2 others), at Viewpoint Gallery showing in Schenectady,
New York (May-July 2002) Curator: Ruth Daly
∑ JUROR’S CHOICE AWARD: Awarded ‘Best in Show’, national juried exhibition (‘Nobody’s Pushover, etc), at Viewpoint Gallery showing in
Schenectady, New York (May-July 2003)
∑ 2ND PLACE AWARD: “Adams Morgan Day” Washington, DC (Sept 7 - 8, 2002)
∑ Group Show: “ART AGAINST WAR” show in Mumbai, India (formerly Bombay),in the Grand Atrium of the Majlis Cultural Center (january6-jan21 2004), curated by Frank Shifreen. Sesow had ‘march madness’ and other paintings converted to posters by show organizers (3’x4’ upto 7’x27’)

∑ Group Show: “In Response”, national juried exhibition, (“To Hell and Back” and “America Recovers”), SCAD Red Gallery, Savannah GA(Sept4-Nov5 2002) Jurors: Robin Cembalest(executive editor of ArtNews), Jeremy Strick (director of Museum of Contemporary Art, LA)
∑ “Join Hands” selected for “Breaking through the Walls of Bias” show at Hofstra Univ. April-August 2002 (New York) Curator: Marcus Schubert
∑ Group Show: “9/11 - Memorial Exhibition”, 291 Broadway at Reade, NYC, (Sept11-Sept30 2002), New York City
∑ Group Show: “ARTISTS WITH (dis)ABILITIES”, America Oh Yes!, Washington, DC (Sept5-Nov30 2002)
∑ Group Show: ‘Political Bodies’, SEATTLE, WA: sponsored by CARA (Communities Against Rape and Abuse), show runs Jan13-Feb23, 2003

∑ SOLO SHOW: New York City (east village), ‘Big Cat Gallery’ (“hundreds of recent paintings”), January 2004
∑ SOLO SHOW: Corcoran Museum “White Walls” Gallery , Washington, DC (2001) , over 45 works
∑ SOLO SHOW: CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, @ “Nature Visionary Art” GALLERY, April-MAY 2004.
∑ SOLO SHOW, windows at 14th and G downtown, 30+ works, Feb - April 2002 (Washington, DC)
∑ SOLO SHOW: HOLLYWOOD: “the Theater of Note”, sesow painted the backdrop for the production of ‘f**king wasps’ (5 very large canvas)
∑ SOLO SHOW: ‘CDW’, 30th and M Street in Georgetown: Jan6 2002 thru March3 (Washington, DC)
∑ Group Show: “OUTSIDE/IN: Visionary Artists and Virginia Collectors”, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia (Virginia Beach)
∑ SOLO SHOW: ‘the ottobar’, March 2003, over 20 works (Baltimore, MD)
∑ SOLO SHOW: at Aroma in Washington, DC. 30+ works , March14 thru May 14 2003


∑ “Hell Bound” and “Bunny Collector” selected for “Revelations and Reflections of American Self-Taught Artists” ExhibitsUSA museum exhibit, April 2002 thru May 2005
∑ Sept 01, 2002 - Oct 20, 2002: The Arkansas Arts Center (Little Rock, AK)
∑ Nov 10, 2002 - Jan7, 2003: Stedman Art Gallery (Camden, New Jersey)
∑ Jan 28, 2003 - Mar 16, 2003: Southern Ohio Museum (Porstmouth, Ohio)
∑ June 16, 2003 - Aug 11, 2003: Union College (Schnectady, NY)
∑ Sept 1, 2003 - Oct 20, 2003: UNLV Barrick Museum (Las Vegas, NV)
∑ Feb 1, 2004 - Mar 20, 2004: Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art (Great Falls, Montana)
∑ Apr 6, 2004 - Aug 11, 2004: The Middlebury College Museum of Art (Middlebury, Vermont)
∑ Sept 01, 2004 - Oct 20, 2004: Hearst Art Gallery (Moraga, CA)
∑ Nov 10, 2004 - Jan 07, 2005: Loveland Museum and Gallery (Loveland, Colorado)
∑ Apr 06, 2005 - May 25, 2005: Museum of the Southwest (Midland, TX)
∑ Jun 16, 2005 - Aug 14, 2005: Art Museum of Southwest Texas (Beaumont, TX)
∑ FIRST PLACE (best artist): 25th annual Adams Morgan Festival 2003. September 6-7 2003, Washington, DC
∑ BEST IN SHOW: Awarded ‘Best in Show’, national juried exhibition (‘Before and After’ + 2 others), at Viewpoint Gallery showing in Schenectady,
New York (May-July 2002) Curator: Ruth Daly
∑ JUROR’S CHOICE AWARD: Awarded ‘Best in Show’, national juried exhibition (‘Nobody’s Pushover, etc), at Viewpoint Gallery showing in
Schenectady, New York (May-July 2003)
∑ 2ND PLACE AWARD: “Adams Morgan Day” Washington, DC (Sept 7 - 8, 2002)
∑ Group Show: “ART AGAINST WAR” show in Mumbai, India (formerly Bombay),in the Grand Atrium of the Majlis Cultural Center (january6-jan21 2004), curated by Frank Shifreen. Sesow had ‘march madness’ and other paintings converted to posters by show organizers (3’x4’ upto 7’x27’)

∑ Group Show: “In Response”, national juried exhibition, (“To Hell and Back” and “America Recovers”), SCAD Red Gallery, Savannah GA(Sept4-Nov5 2002) Jurors: Robin Cembalest(executive editor of ArtNews), Jeremy Strick (director of Museum of Contemporary Art, LA)
∑ “Join Hands” selected for “Breaking through the Walls of Bias” show at Hofstra Univ. April-August 2002 (New York) Curator: Marcus Schubert
∑ Group Show: “9/11 - Memorial Exhibition”, 291 Broadway at Reade, NYC, (Sept11-Sept30 2002), New York City
∑ Group Show: “ARTISTS WITH (dis)ABILITIES”, America Oh Yes!, Washington, DC (Sept5-Nov30 2002)
∑ Group Show: ‘Political Bodies’, SEATTLE, WA: sponsored by CARA (Communities Against Rape and Abuse), show runs Jan13-Feb23, 2003