Kerry James Marshall
My experience at Civitella was exhilarating at every turn. That residency could not have come at a better time. I had just completed a cycle of work so stressfull, I was near collapse. Getting far away was just what I needed. Getting away to Italia was a dream. The new friends my wife and I made, the places we went to, the things we saw, have enriched our lives in ways we will savor for a long long time. Everyone made us feel so special. It was a shame I arrived at Civitella with yet another exhibition deadline looming. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to do. Working under that pressure forced me to work harder than I otherwise would have. Thankfully, the studio space I had was more than adequate for the project I was trying to develop. I worked on a very large drawing in twelve 4×8 foot sections. This drawing became the preparatory study for a very big woodcut, 8 feet by 48 feet, that I showed at the Orlando Museum in Florida.
