Bingo
Works by Ben and Lee Sisto
Russell Janis
292 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Enter on Devoe Street
russelljanis.com
On view June 26 - July 18, 2021
Reception June 26, 2021 from 11am - 12pm
Public Hours:
June 28, 29, 30 from 10am-2pm
July 8, 9, 10 from 10am-2pm
Otherwise, viewable via window
No RSVP needed, but email if you’d like.
Please follow current rules regarding masks, social distancing, and safety per the CDC, City of New York, and Russell Janis.
The first drawing tools I remember using were my Vova’s bingo markers. I know their weight, colors, concave bodies, and the gentle sensation of the dauber’s foam tip coming into contact with paper. This would have been around ‘84, age 4 or 5.
In the spring of 2020 my wife purchased a set of bingo markers for our two-and-a-half year old daughter, Lee, who quickly took to smashing them on paper and tabletops with an energy I’d describe as enthusiastic, if not a tad aggressive. As time went on, gestures became softer, lines longer, and shapes shapelier. One day, I asked if we could paint together.
Collaboration is always a challenge. What does Lee know of my intent? What do I know of hers? Am I letting her hand and personality come through? Am I controlling the process in a way that’s counterproductive to her development? Is she having fun? I think she is, but maybe that’s because I hope she is. I try to both teach and learn; to arrive at a place that honestly represents our shared understanding of form and color. A real dialogue. But then sometimes Lee just takes the paper away from me and says “All done.”
Ben Sisto, 2021
