Widow/er

Widow/er
Susan Rosenberg Jones
October 24 – December 6, 2019

Reception October 24, 2019 7-8:30 PM
Gallery Talk Susan Rosenberg Jones 6:15 PM before the opening reception on October 24, 2019
Isa Leshko artist talk and book signing November 21, 2019 7 PM - 8:30 PM

: Sue -55 years together, 11 years after: “I went to a bereavement group at the “Y” and I said the problem that I had was that I had no women friends. We were all couples. And so one of the yentas said to me, ‘when you stop playing bridge with all the men you’ll have women friends’. So I started to play Mah- Jongg.”

: Lori – 22 years together, 11 years after: “I was looking for comforting books and trying to reconcile God’s role in the whole thing. And how can bad things happen to good people. And why is there so much suffering in the world and all those age – old questions. And then afterwards I got really caught up in the girls and I started doing a lot of reading about that. I remember I have this book called Fatherless Daughters – I just really wanted to know how could I help them, and there was almost nothing on it.”

: Darrell – 25 years together, 1.5 years after: “We had a cocktail hour every Saturday evening after Roger came home from church and before going out to dinner. It usually included wine or champagne, cheese, some fruit, nuts, and crackers. We would have some unobtrusive music on. This would be our time, every week, to really talk to each other. About life, our shared or personal histories or any plans we had for the future.”

: Melissa – 30 years together, 2.5 years after: “I went back to work about two weeks after the funeral. It’s a very strange feeling to go back. People look at you. They don’t know what to say to you. I guess for some people it’s easier to ignore it and just ignore you than to confront you and say, ‘How are you doing’? I think living on my own was one of the hardest things that I’ve had to deal with. Just figuring out how do I feed myself because there were always two of us, you know, and when you go from two to one, sometimes I don’t eat – sometimes it’s like two or three days, and I’m like, ‘Did I eat’?”

Statement
“There is nothing like the grief one experiences after a life partner passes away. When I lost my first husband in 2008, I searched for books and articles addressing this particular loss. I was looking for suggestions on coping techniques from others who’d been widowed. There wasn’t much.

I remarried in 2012. After focusing on my loving relationship with my second husband, Joel in my body of work “Second Time Around,” I realized that my feelings about my first husband’s passing were still evolving, bubbling up occasionally at random times.

Since March of 2018, I have been meeting with widows and widowers of all ages, gay and straight, having been in legal marriages or in committed partnerships. We have a conversation, recorded for accuracy, and I make the portrait. A printed statement from the subject accompanies each photograph. This process is emotionally satisfying as my sitters and I examine together how a marriage can shape us going forward. I hope that by sharing their stories, those suffering this profound loss – whether recently or not – will take comfort in recognition and shared experience.”
– SRJ

Bio
My work centers on home and community. What does it mean to be home, and to whom do we feel connected?

Awards and Honors

2017 Critical Mass Top 50
2017 Baxter Street at CCNY Annual Juried Competition, Honorable Mention
2016 PH21 Gallery, Budapest, Hungary, Honourable Mention