Dear Sahar,

A while back Daniel Nevers and I had a conversation about the possibility of an exhibition of artists from the Roll Up Project. We talked about how our lives infect and influence the art we make. The idea for the Midas show was how life and art intersect, and how the atmosphere and energy of the studio holds special secrets. Things we have gathered to look at. Ephemera born in the studio we hold onto. Collections of stuff we live with. Books we read. Music we listen to. Records we had (and may still have) years ago. Before music could be carried around in our pockets.

These memories, attitudes, objects, thoughts, feelings, are all part of the art we make. Our entire existence lives inside the art we make. This is the impetus or concept behind this show at the Berkeley Art Center. We live among other people. We thrive in a community, a neighborhood, and among other artists.

Artists possess the Midas touch. The story of turning something or someone into gold. Artists have always been alchemists.

The way in which things in the studio become art is a magical, mysterious thing. We hope that through this exhibit your artwork along with something that inspired or touched you in some way or burrowed itself into your art, and will share with the viewers a part of that studio secrecy. You can present new work or something that you think works with this premise. In my work, for example, it could be the TV, a newspaper clipping, or an object which shows up in my work. The candelabra is a good example. Matisse painted a picture of his studio and included all the paintings he had on his wall in miniature. Jasper Johns has used images of his bathtub faucet, George Ohr pottery, an old photograph of Lucien Freud, and a newspaper obituary. Joan Mitchell, the garden around her house in France as well as the one Monet cultivated.