Description
This catalog was printed in conjunction with the exhibition Widow/er, on display in the Griffin Gallery from October 24 – December 6, 2019, featuring the work of Susan Rosenberg Jones. This body of work explores the experience of people who have lost their life partners through portraits and statements.
Artist 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.”
About Susan Rosenberg Jones
With my artistic practice, I explore themes of home, family, community, identity, aging, love, and relationships. Working mostly in color I meet my subjects in the environment where they are most comfortable, often in the home, to tell their stories with authenticity and compassion. At times, I use a lighter touch, occasionally injecting humor, to express intimate feelings about the person being photographed, especially if it’s someone close to me. I am influenced by literary fiction in terms of character development and place description, and I endeavor to create images that touch on human emotions that are recognizable and familiar.
