Life and Limb

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9/1/2021

Artist uses pain and history for new exhibition at ODU; show includes 13 pieces by famed painter Jean-Michel Basquiat - The Virginian-Pilot

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Artist uses pain and history for new
exhibition at ODU; show includes 13
pieces by famed painter Jean-Michel
Basquiat
By SALEEN MARTIN
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT | SEP 01, 2021

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9/1/2021

Artist uses pain and history for new exhibition at ODU; show includes 13 pieces by famed painter Jean-Michel Basquiat - The Virginian-Pilot

"Kitty, Kitty," 2015 by Matt Sesow. Acrylic/mix on watercolor paper. 15 by 22 inches. The piece will be on display
through Dec. 18 at Old Dominion University's Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries as part of the exhibition "Life and
Limb: Works by Matt Sesow." (Courtesy of Chrissy and Stirling Covington - Goulart)

NORFOLK — The latest exhibition at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries at
Old Dominion University feels like stepping into a children’s book.
Contorted animals with surgical scars, planes and wind socks are sketched onto the
walls as if by a child with a painful past. Between the drawings are formalized
paintings such as a portrait of jazz great Louis Armstrong and illustrations of trains
and mermaids, which feel like a portal to formative elementary school years.
While the gallery feels playful and nostalgic, several of the works by artist Matt
Sesow are indeed the result of trauma.
When he was 8, Sesow was playing with friends in a rural Nebraska airfield when
he was hit by the propeller of a landing airplane. His left arm was severed below the
elbow. Sesow discovered his love for art in 1994 after years of working as a software
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9/1/2021

Artist uses pain and history for new exhibition at ODU; show includes 13 pieces by famed painter Jean-Michel Basquiat - The Virginian-Pilot

tester. Art became his way to heal and express the pain that followed the accident.
He is, at 55, a self-taught artist.
His show, “Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow,” opened Tuesday and runs
through Dec. 18. It contains more than 225 works, including wall drawings and
paintings inspired by his weeklong residency in Norfolk this spring. Also in the
show are 13 originals from the iconic neo-expressionist painter Jean-Michel
Basquiat, who died at 27 in 1988.
Cullen Strawn, executive director for the arts and director of the galleries,
developed the exhibition and included Basquiat because Sesow’s work resembles
his, with its bold lines and bright colors.
This is the first time Basquiat’s pieces have been publicly displayed, Strawn said.
Sesow was already painting like the New York-based Basquiat before he learned of
his work. The two artists share other similarities.
Strawn said Basquiat was 8 when he
was hit by a car while playing in the
street. He was severely injured. His
mother brought him a copy of Gray’s
Anatomy, the medical reference,
which gave him anatomical ideas he
used in his art.
“When we get over to the Basquiats,
you’ll see dissected heads and
missing limbs and things like that,”
Strawn said during a tour of the
Sesow show. “I wonder if in the
human mind, there’s not something
to do with severe childhood trauma
that manifests in expression in
particular ways.”

Untitled, 1981 by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Paint on MDF
board. 16 x 12 inches. From the Collection of David
Liebman. The piece is on display through Dec. 18 at Old

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9/1/2021

Artist uses pain and history for new exhibition at ODU; show includes 13 pieces by famed painter Jean-Michel Basquiat - The Virginian-Pilot

Sesow saw the 1996 movie

Dominion University's Baron and Ellin Gordon Art
Galleries as part of the "Life and Limb: Works by Matt
Sesow" exhibition. (Courtesy of David Liebman)

“Basquiat,” which starred Jeffrey
Wright as Basquiat and David Bowie
as his artist friend Andy Warhol.
In one scene, Basquiat barged in on
Warhol, threw some of his work at
him and asked if Warhol wanted to
pay $10 for it. Sesow said the scene
inspired him to create more work; he
now paints full time from his base in
Washington, D.C., and is pretty
prolific. He’s created more than
17,000 pieces
To add context to the show, Strawn
compiled hours of music that plays
throughout the gallery, including the
loud and fast hardcore, free jazz,
early ska that Basquiat liked. That’s
another similarity between the
artists, he said.

"Model Runway" 2005 by Matt Sesow. Acrylic/mixed on
watercolor board. 15 x 20 inches. The piece will be on
display from Aug. 31 to Dec. 18, 2021 at Old Dominion
University's Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries as part
of the "Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow" exhibition.
(Courtesy of Baron and Ellin Gordon)

The exhibition includes a touch-screen display case that allows users to interact
with three booklets in the gallery, including a handwritten and illustrated one that
chronicles Sesow’s love story with his wife, artist Dana Ellyn.
Guests can view and flip through the pages on the screen. The display, called a
MagicBox, also plays a time-lapse video of Sesow painting Armstrong playing
trumpet. The painting was inspired by the Attucks Theatre in Norfolk and its
history.
The exhibition spans Sesow’s career, including works from when he first picked up
a paintbrush. He started as a hobby and realized, as he described in his artist
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9/1/2021

Artist uses pain and history for new exhibition at ODU; show includes 13 pieces by famed painter Jean-Michel Basquiat - The Virginian-Pilot

statement, that painting was “a new language to express feelings felt but never
shared.”
His work initially focused heavily on his disability. His focus has shifted, he said
while giving a tour of the exhibition through a telepresence robot.
“I don’t approach the disability issue quite as much now as I did back when I
started because it was kind of a healing process of documenting what those
emotions meant to me and kind of shelving them aside on a painting,” he said.
“The recovery through art is ongoing.”
That became evident one day while he worked on “Life and Limb” in Norfolk.
Strawn was filming him as he painted and drew.
“Oh my God!” he exclaimed, and Strawn went to check on him.
“My wife doesn’t even know this,” Sesow recalled telling him. “I just realized why I
use so little brown in my paintings — it’s because the airplane that hit me was
brown!”
Sesow called it “therapy through art.”
During his one-week residency in May, he used the old Jimmy John’s on Monarch
Way as his studio. He spent mornings walking and looking for inspiration, then
more than 10 hours some days listening to music and painting parts of Norfolk
history.
One piece, “Underground Railroad,” depicts 30 brown figures staring blankly
ahead. Above them, a train goes by. Behind the train is a diagram of sorts. An
arrow points to the name George Latimer, who escaped slavery in Norfolk through
the Underground Railroad. From his name, another arrow points to the name of
his son, Lewis Latimer, and then to a light bulb. The younger Latimer was an
assistant to Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone. According to the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Latimer also improved Thomas Edison’s
light bulb.
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9/1/2021

Artist uses pain and history for new exhibition at ODU; show includes 13 pieces by famed painter Jean-Michel Basquiat - The Virginian-Pilot

Sesow even made some of his pieces with coal from the Lamberts Point Coal
Terminal. He even took some of the coal home.
“I still have it,” Sesow said, smiling and holding up a piece to the camera. “I was
really, really excited to do this. It’s the first time I’ve ever tried working with these
materials.”
The Norfolk show is important to him for several reasons.
Baron and Ellin Gordon were some of the first to buy his art, which meant a lot to
the new artist. The show is also his largest.
“It’s just a very solid show that encompasses so many different aspects of art that
I’ve been in,” he said. “I’m just super excited to see the show myself.”
Saleen Martin, 757-446-2027, saleen.martin@pilotonline.com
LATEST ARTS & THEATER

Artist uses pain and history
for new exhibition at ODU;
show includes 13 pieces by
famed painter Jean-Michel
Basquiat

___

If you go
When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays
through Saturdays through Dec. 18

5 1m

Where: Baron and Ellin Gordon Art
Changes are happening on
Atlantic Avenue in Virginia
Beach; a kickoff block party is
Friday

Galleries, 4509 Monarch Way,

7 : 31 A M

Cost: Free

Chesapeake artist’s new
exhibition reflects ancestral
themes
A U G 31, 2021

Norfolk

Details: 757-683-6271,
tinyurl.com/mattsesow or
gordongalleries@odu.edu

Shipping containers become
canvas for surf murals in
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9/1/2021

Artist uses pain and history for new exhibition at ODU; show includes 13 pieces by famed painter Jean-Michel Basquiat - The Virginian-Pilot

Virginia Beach’s ViBe Creative
District
A U G 26, 2021
Coastal culture: Kitty Hawk
artist Mike Davis builds ‘Faces
of Eve’ layer by layer
A U G 23, 2021

"Mermaid," 2021 by Matt Sesow. Acrylic/mix on stretched canvas. 36 x 24 inches. From the Collection of Lewis Francis.
The piece will be on display from Aug. 31 to Dec. 18, 2021 at Old Dominion University's Baron and Ellin Gordon Art
Galleries as part of the "Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow" exhibition. (Courtesy of Lewis Francis)

Topics: Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, Old Dominion University, Louis Armstrong, Matt Sesow, Life and
Limb: Works by Matt Sesow, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Trauma, Cullen Strawn, Baron Gordon, Ellin Gordon,
Underground Railroad, George Latimer, Lewis Latimer, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Dana Ellyn,
David Liebman

Saleen Martin
Staff Writer

Saleen Martin, a Norfolk native, is a reporter on The Virginian-Pilot’s features team. She joined
The Pilot in 2018 after getting her master's degree from the University of Georgia. She also has
https://www.pilotonline.com/entertainment/arts/vp-db-life-and-limb-090221-20210901-twxsrsckjfbpreh6uk2bamxeuu-story.html

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9/1/2021

Artist uses pain and history for new exhibition at ODU; show includes 13 pieces by famed painter Jean-Michel Basquiat - The Virginian-Pilot

a bachelor's degree from Virginia Wesleyan University. She has a weakness for horror movies,
witchy Netflix shows, reality TV, and sushi.

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8/8

Full text

Text taken from the saved copy (where a page was only an image, it was machine-read and may contain errors — check against the page image before quoting). Copyright remains with the original publisher; kept for the historical record.

8/19/2021

ART: For Life & Limb | VEER Magazine :: Hampton Roads arts, culture, entertainment, beer, wine, travel, dining

U

a

ART: For Life & Limb
by Jeff Maisey | Aug 19, 2021 | Art, Art News, Art Previews, Current Exhibits

(Trumpeting: “I created this painting at my studio in downtown Washington, D.C.
after a stay in Norfolk and learning about the history of the Attucks Theatre.” —
Matt Sesow)
By Betsy DiJulio
Everyone, it seems, has heard of Matt Sesow even if they don’t own a painting by him,
though it also seems everyone has one—or three—of those. And that is by design. As
Sesow says, since he makes his sole living by selling his art, he is fortunate that he enjoys
the marketing and selling as much as the making. With no painting priced over $1K and
most far less than that, the prices for these paintings are intentionally set within most
everyone’s reach. But their magnetic appeal extends far beyond their price tag.
If you ask some people how they ended up in their current line of work, they might joke, “I
lost a bet.” Sesow, however, might quip, “I got drunk.” In 1994 this university-educated
software developer/engineer, with a 10-year career working for industry giants like IBM,
https://veermag.com/2021/08/art-for-life-limb/

1/5

8/19/2021

ART: For Life & Limb | VEER Magazine :: Hampton Roads arts, culture, entertainment, beer, wine, travel, dining

picked up a paint brush with some art school friends and had a few beers. He painted
images from a local free paper in D.C. “making it up as I went along.” His version of therest-is-history? “Everyone else stopped and I kept going.”
By 1996, after continuing to paint and self-educate in D.C. museums—finding inspiration in
the likes of Francis Bacon and Willem de Kooning—Sesow set up his work at a festival in
Georgetown, but sold nothing all day until the very end when a woman bought virtually
everything he had. She turned out to be an art dealer from Connecticut who carried his
work for a decade. That was the same year he saw the movie Basquiat about the short life
of world-renowned street artist Jean Michel Basquiat, a driving influence on him.
In 2001, Sesow left his computer career to paint full-time. Ultimately acknowledging that
art gallery goals “were different than mine,” he recognized his personal need to “keep
creative and keep relevant…without gallery deadlines and pressures.” He figured that his
work ethic, business experience, programming knowledge, marketing acumen, and origin
story would propel his career. And he was right, having spent recent decades developing
collectors around the world, exhibiting nationally and internationally in over 150 shows,
and selling to fans directly from his website, www.sesow.com. At last count, Sesow has
sold some 8,000 paintings.

https://veermag.com/2021/08/art-for-life-limb/

2/5

8/19/2021

ART: For Life & Limb | VEER Magazine :: Hampton Roads arts, culture, entertainment, beer, wine, travel, dining

(Underground Railroad: “I created this painting on the ODU campus while staying in
Norfolk, Virginia. It represents the history of Norfolk and how George Latimer escaped via
the underground railroad on a ship headed to Baltimore in 1842. Latimer had a son, Lewis
Howard Latimer, who went on to help discover and invent better filaments for the light
bulb, an evaporative air conditioner, and an improved toilet system for railroad cars.” —
Matt Sesow)

https://veermag.com/2021/08/art-for-life-limb/

3/5

8/19/2021

ART: For Life & Limb | VEER Magazine :: Hampton Roads arts, culture, entertainment, beer, wine, travel, dining

Recently, I was joined by the prolific and engaging artist in the Baron and Ellin Gordon
Galleries at ODU via Gordon, a telepresence robot, for a preview of Sesow’s upcoming
exhibition. Joining us for the gallery visit were Cullen Strawn, ODU’s executive director for
the arts and curator of the show, and David and Phil Liebman, collectors who lent work to
it.
Now about that origin story: Life and Limb is a direct reference to a childhood game turned
tragic one evening near an airfield in rural Nebraska. Someone would call out numbers,
and the kids raced for corresponding balls. Sesow, age 8, thought it would be a funny trick
on his friends to turn and run the opposite direction. And he did, running straight into the
moving propellor of an incoming plane that severed his left arm and ultimately cost him
his hand.
His paintings—bright, bold, and energetic—have been part of a healing journey. Some see
them as angry and aggressive, others as joyful and hopeful. Regardless, processing the
past while confronting the present—including politics—has resulted in a huge body of
widespread and wildly popular work. It is largely populated with human and animal
figures, recognizable for their style, color palette, “Sesow smiles,” and personal
iconography. For the ODU show, one group of paintings features mermaids or “sirens,”
ships, and captains. Though germane to the local community, these symbols carry both
personal and universal meaning. The captain, for instance, symbolizes for Sesow a positive
“taking control” and “forward-looking” stance.
Hand-drawn like custom wallpaper on the gallery walls are some of Sesow’s most
frequently used icons which also appear in the paintings, sometimes next to his signature
as a marker in time: trauma scars, bunnies bearing trauma scars, trauma cups—“pour bad
things in the cup and move on”—rising and descending phoenixes, one-winged birds, and
many more.
Find them all and lose yourself in Life and Limb this fall.

WANT TO SEE?
Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow
August 31 through December 18
Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries
Old Dominion University
ODU.edu, 757.683.6271

https://veermag.com/2021/08/art-for-life-limb/

4/5

Full text

Text taken from the saved copy (where a page was only an image, it was machine-read and may contain errors — check against the page image before quoting). Copyright remains with the original publisher; kept for the historical record.

Archived copy for research · saved for the Matt Sesow Career Chronicle, history.sesow.com, October 12, 2026
Title: REVIEWS (includes the full VEER Magazine article 'ART: For Life & Limb' by Betsy DiJulio)
Publisher: life.sesow.com (Matt Sesow's exhibition website)
Date: 2021
Original URL: https://life.sesow.com/reviews.html
Why it matters: Full text of the VEER review with Matt's statements on Trumpeting and Underground Railroad.
Copyright remains with the original publisher. Reproduced for reference and scholarship; contact sesow@sesow.com
with any request.

REVIEWS

VEER Magazine online September 2021 (Review in Veer Magazine (Norfolk) by Betsy Dijulio:):
(Trumpeting: “I created this painting at my studio in downtown Washington, D.C. after a stay in Norfolk and
learning about the history of the Attucks Theatre.” — Matt Sesow)
By Betsy DiJulio
Everyone, it seems, has heard of Matt Sesow even if they don’t own a painting by him, though it also seems everyone
has one—or three—of those. And that is by design. As Sesow says, since he makes his sole living by selling his art, he
is fortunate that he enjoys the marketing and selling as much as the making. With no painting priced over $1K and
most far less than that, the prices for these paintings are intentionally set within most everyone’s reach. But their
magnetic appeal extends far beyond their price tag.
If you ask some people how they ended up in their current line of work, they might joke, “I lost a bet.” Sesow,
however, might quip, “I got drunk.” In 1994 this university-educated software developer/engineer, with a 10-year
career working for industry giants like IBM, picked up a paint brush with some art school friends and had a few beers.
He painted images from a local free paper in D.C. “making it up as I went along.” His version of the-rest-is-history?
“Everyone else stopped and I kept going.”
By 1996, after continuing to paint and self-educate in D.C. museums—finding inspiration in the likes of Francis Bacon
and Willem de Kooning—Sesow set up his work at a festival in Georgetown, but sold nothing all day until the very end
when a woman bought virtually everything he had. She turned out to be an art dealer from Connecticut who carried his
work for a decade. That was the same year he saw the movie Basquiat about the short life of world-renowned street
artist Jean Michel Basquiat, a driving influence on him.
In 2001, Sesow left his computer career to paint full-time. Ultimately acknowledging that art gallery goals “were
different than mine,” he recognized his personal need to “keep creative and keep relevant…without gallery deadlines
and pressures.” He figured that his work ethic, business experience, programming knowledge, marketing acumen, and
origin story would propel his career. And he was right, having spent recent decades developing collectors around the
world, exhibiting nationally and internationally in over 150 shows, and selling to fans directly from his website,
www.sesow.com. At last count, Sesow has sold some 8,000 paintings.
(Underground Railroad: “I created this painting on the ODU campus while staying in Norfolk, Virginia. It
represents the history of Norfolk and how George Latimer escaped via the underground railroad on a ship
headed to Baltimore in 1842. Latimer had a son, Lewis Howard Latimer, who went on to help discover and
invent better filaments for the light bulb, an evaporative air conditioner, and an improved toilet system for
railroad cars.” — Matt Sesow)

Recently, I was joined by the prolific and engaging artist in the Baron and Ellin Gordon Galleries at ODU via Gordon,
a telepresence robot, for a preview of Sesow’s upcoming exhibition. Joining us for the gallery visit were Cullen
Strawn, ODU’s executive director for the arts and curator of the show, and David and Phil Liebman, collectors who
lent work to it.
Now about that origin story: Life and Limb is a direct reference to a childhood game turned tragic one evening near an
airfield in rural Nebraska. Someone would call out numbers, and the kids raced for corresponding balls. Sesow, age 8,
thought it would be a funny trick on his friends to turn and run the opposite direction. And he did, running straight into
the moving propellor of an incoming plane that severed his left arm and ultimately cost him his hand.
His paintings—bright, bold, and energetic—have been part of a healing journey. Some see them as angry and
aggressive, others as joyful and hopeful. Regardless, processing the past while confronting the present—including
politics—has resulted in a huge body of widespread and wildly popular work. It is largely populated with human and
animal figures, recognizable for their style, color palette, “Sesow smiles,” and personal iconography. For the ODU
show, one group of paintings features mermaids or “sirens,” ships, and captains. Though germane to the local
community, these symbols carry both personal and universal meaning. The captain, for instance, symbolizes for Sesow
a positive “taking control” and “forward-looking” stance.
Hand-drawn like custom wallpaper on the gallery walls are some of Sesow’s most frequently used icons which also
appear in the paintings, sometimes next to his signature as a marker in time: trauma scars, bunnies bearing trauma
scars, trauma cups—“pour bad things in the cup and move on”—rising and descending phoenixes, one-winged birds,
and many more.
Find them all and lose yourself in Life and Limb this fall.

WANT TO SEE?
Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow
August 31 through December 18
Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries
Old Dominion University
ODU.edu, 757.683.6271

Article from the September 1, 2021 “Virginian Pilot” Newspaper:

from the ODU.edu website:

Hardcopy Review in Veer Magazine (Norfolk) by Betsy Dijulio:

From the October 2021 Old Dominion University Institute for the Humanities Newsletter:

Click the large image to see exhibition space,

[page 3 machine-read (OCR) from the image]

Full text

Text taken from the saved copy (where a page was only an image, it was machine-read and may contain errors — check against the page image before quoting). Copyright remains with the original publisher; kept for the historical record.

Archived copy for research · saved for the Matt Sesow Career Chronicle, history.sesow.com, October 12, 2026
Title: New Exhibition at Gordon Art Galleries Illustrates Healing Power of Art
Publisher: News@ODU, Old Dominion University (Amy Matzke-Fawcett)
Date: August 20, 2021
Original URL: https://odu.edu/node/334686
Why it matters: ODU's own story on Life and Limb: the May 2021 residency and its sponsors, the 13 pounds of Norfolk
Southern coal, the MagicBox and the telepresence robot. Text captured from the live page on October 12, 2026.
Copyright remains with the original publisher. Reproduced for reference and scholarship; contact sesow@sesow.com
with any request.

New Exhibition at Gordon Art Galleries Illustrates
Healing Power of Art
August 20, 2021
share

Full text

Text taken from the saved copy (where a page was only an image, it was machine-read and may contain errors — check against the page image before quoting). Copyright remains with the original publisher; kept for the historical record.

Archived copy for research · saved for the Matt Sesow Career Chronicle, history.sesow.com, October 12, 2026
Title: 'Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow' at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, Old Dominion University (press
release)
Publisher: Old Dominion University News & Media Relations (contact Amber Kennedy), as reposted on life.sesow.com
Date: August 12, 2021
Original URL: https://life.sesow.com/press-release.html
Why it matters: The official press release.
Copyright remains with the original publisher. Reproduced for reference and scholarship; contact sesow@sesow.com
with any request.

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Amber Kennedy
Director of News & Media Relations
Old Dominion University
(757) 683-3278
alkenned@odu.edu

‘Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow’ at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, Old Dominion University

NORFOLK, Va. — (Aug. 12, 2021) Matt Sesow wasn’t always a painter; he discovered his passion in 1994 while
working at IBM, eventually leaving his career in computers to become a full-time artist in 2001. But by his estimates
he’s sold more than 17,000 works, due to his emotional, joyful and in his words, “obsessive” painting.

“Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow” will be on display at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries on Monarch
Way from Aug. 31 to Dec. 18. The show spans a Sesow’s career as a self-taught artist, featuring works inspired by
friendship with Baron and Ellin Gordon, and his world travels and residencies including a recent week spent in
Norfolk.

Early works helped him deal with personal trauma of losing his left arm at age 8 after being hit by the propeller of an
airplane, and expanded to what inspires him, from “trauma icons” to friends’ Instagram posts to war. The paintings, he
said, help to calm his fears and nightmares from the accident.

Sesow and wife Dana Ellyn are both full-time painters living in Washington, DC. While the show in the Gordon
Galleries is a solo exhibition of Sesow’s work, the two also did a collaborative three-day show and artist talk in August

at Vibrant Shore Brewing in Virginia Beach, and a one-week residency in Norfolk in May. During that time, Sesow
walked the city for inspiration, then returned to a temporary studio space to create works for the upcoming show.
Residencies are a technique Sesow has used to create in the past, painting in Costa Rica, Spain, and California, among
others.

“I pretty much get up in the morning, walk around and get inspired by maybe going to a market or seeing a
newspaper,” he said. “Painting takes a lot of time, and I’ve got to hit it when it’s just right because I can’t just turn on
the good emotional stuff.”

Sesow’s work is also highly influenced by Jean-Michel Basquiat, the influential artist who rose to fame in the 1980s for
bold and colorful works. A number of Basquiat’s early works will be on display in the Galleries to complement “Life
and Limb” and demonstrate influence.

For the Norfolk show, Sesow has also incorporated a physical piece of Norfolk. With the help of retired Chairman,
President, and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation, David Goode, the university’s Executive Director for the Arts,
Cullen Strawn, procured and overnighted 13 pounds of coal from the Norfolk Southern Lambert’s Point Yard, which
Sesow then ground with a mortar and pestle to make paint and used to create several works for the show. Ellyn has also
incorporated the coal paint into her recent works.

“This is no ordinary exhibition, and it is on the other end of the spectrum from boring – you really need to stand in the
space and see the writing, painting, and drawing all over the walls in addition to the works shown together, and hear
some of the music Matt listens to in headphones while painting to understand just how impactful it is,” Strawn said.
“Matt has collectors around the world, and guests worldwide can visit the show by using our telepresence robot named
Gordon.”

In-person guests can interact with the gallery’s MagicBox to read illustrated love-story booklets by Sesow and see a
timelapse video of him painting Louis Armstrong playing trumpet in honor of Norfolk’s Attucks Theatre history.

The Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries exhibit works by nationally and internationally recognized self-taught artists,
contemporary artists working in all media, and local and regional artists connected with Old Dominion University. Free
and open to the public, with parking in the 45th Street garage. Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. For more
information on this exhibition and talks and events with Sesow, visit odu.edu/arts/galleries, follow the galleries at
@gordonartgalleries on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, or call (757) 683-6271. More of Sesow’s work is also
available on sesow.com.

###

Click the image to see more of the paintings in the exhibition:

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Archived copy for research · saved for the Matt Sesow Career Chronicle, history.sesow.com, October 12, 2026
Title: Community Connection: ODU exhibit 'Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow'
Publisher: WAVY-TV 10, The Hampton Roads Show (Nexstar)
Date: Posted August 23, 2021; updated September 15, 2021
Original URL: https://www.wavy.com/hr-show/community-connection-odu-exhibit-life-and-limb-works-by-matt-sesow/
Why it matters: Television feature page; notes this was the galleries' first exhibition using the new MagicBox. Text
captured October 12, 2026 (video not included).
Copyright remains with the original publisher. Reproduced for reference and scholarship; contact sesow@sesow.com
with any request.

Posted: Aug 23, 2021 / 04:58 PM EDT
Updated: Sep 15, 2021 / 06:05 PM EDT
SHARE
Norfolk, Va. (WAVY) — Calling all art lovers! In a few days, ODU will open a new exhibit featuring the work of artist
Matt Sesow.
The show spans Sesow’s career as a self-taught artist, featuring works inspired by his world travels and residencies,
including a recent week he spent in Norfolk.
This will also be ODU’s first exhibition using the new “MagicBox,” an interactive display case with a touch screen that
allows visitors to have the virtual ability to examine an item.
“Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow” will be on display from Aug. 31 to Dec. 18 at the Baron and Ellin Gordon
Art Galleries on Monarch Way at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
Admission is free and open to the public. Check out this behind the scenes footage of the museum.

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INSTITUTE FOR THE HUMANITIES

October 2021

H U M A N I T I E S
N E W S L E T T E R

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Alisa Moore, Class of 2019

TABLE OF
CONTENTS

Alisa Moore fell in love with women’s studies as an
undergraduate at ODU after taking a chance and

Alumni Spotlight • P. 1-2

stepping outside of her marine biology major. Once she
found women’s studies, she went “heavy in the paint” and
there was no turning back. After graduating with her BA,

Current Student Spotlight • P. 3

Moore worked with the Women’s Center at TCC—an
experience she values highly, before she began her
search for graduate programs. She was thrilled to find

Faculty Spotlight • P. 4

the Humanities MA program because it allowed her to
continue her research connecting gender and queer

On View Now

• P. 5

studies to video games and media analysis.

Continued on Pg. 2

News & Events • P. 6-7

Pg. 1

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT CONT.
Because the Humanities program is interdisciplinary, Moore
was able to branch out and take courses specifically in game
studies in addition to women’s studies, "What I really loved
about the Humanities program was that it was very
customizable. I was taking classes with folks who were
interested in looking at the culture of food and others who
were more interested in film studies or traditional studies, and
others who were more into the theoretical realm of things..."

“…BEING ABLE TO INTERACT WITH MY PEERS, WHO WERE
STUDYING VERY DIFFERENT THINGS FROM ME, AND
FINDING THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN OUR DISCIPLINES—
EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE ON OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE
SPECTRUM, OR SOMETIMES ON COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
SPECTRUMS ALTOGETHER, I THINK IT’S A VERY VALUABLE
SKILL THAT I LEARNED.”
Alisa Moore is now the Assistant Communications Coordinator
at ODU Libraries. The ability to study different disciplines
prepared her for working with ODU Libraries, “Being able to
see connections between

Headshot of Alisa Moore, class of 2019

certain events we want to host and academic departments that would get a lot out of those things is
something that I feel going through the Humanities program prepared me for, because I was able to be
at least passingly familiar with a lot of different disciplines.”

Moore speaks highly of the faculty who made her experience feel supported—most notably Dr. Avi Santo,
who helped craft her program to match her interests. Her advice to current students is to reach out and
build relationships with advisors and professors, “…they’re there to help you and if you’re feeling a bit
lost or you’re not quite sure if you want to change your mind, they’re the best resource for you to utilize…
Also, definitely lean on your peers. They call us a cohort for a reason!” Moore feels one of the most
valuable assets she gained from her time with the Institute for the Humanities is a strong network of
scholars, most of whom she maintains relationships with today.

You can read some of Moore’s work on her Medium site here.
Be sure to also check out the Libraries’ Themester events, an academic exploration of social justice
issues and art.

Alisa’s book recommendation: Anything by Bonnie Ruberg, but especially her collection of essays titled
Queer Game Studies.

Pg. 2

CURRENT STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Ty'kara Turner, Class of 2022

During Ty’kara Turner’s time as an undergraduate, she double majored in psychology and women’s studies.
She was immediately drawn to the Humanities program at ODU because it afforded her the opportunity to
continue studying gender, sexuality, and women’s studies as well as acquire necessary skills to be a
successful scholar and teacher. She has had her eye on teaching since she was in high school,

“I WOULD LIKE TO SERVE IN WAYS THAT I CAN, AND TEACHING IS A GREAT WAY TO DO THAT.
KNOWING THAT I’M HELPING TO GIVE KNOWLEDGE TO ANOTHER GENERATION.”
Ty’kara knew she wanted to stay within the tight-knit Women’s Studies Program and community, and was
chosen to be a Graduate Assistant for Gay Cultural Studies.

In her second year of the Humanities program, Ty’kara’s thesis is coming along nicely. She is in the process
of creating a collection of eight zines that focus on social justice issues, such as misogynoir and
microaggressions. Ty’kara has a wealth of ODU faculty supporting and mentoring her through this endeavor,
and many of her courses have already informed her work. Ty’kara cites a Gender and Media course she took
with Dr. Groeneveld as impactful to her research, “[Dr. Groeneveld] focuses on popular culture through a
feminist lens, incorporating art. Her area of study is zines and magazines… it was really helpful to have
more examples of feminist media to help figure out what I want my thesis to look like.”

Ty’kara also speaks highly of Dr. Fish, “she’s a really great
professor, she’s really helped me throughout the years.” Dr. Fish

Below: Headshot of Ty'kara Turner

taught a Refugee Studies course over the summer where
Ty’kara and other students had the opportunity to investigate
and question governmental refugee policies through time. At
the end of the course, she describes a rewarding experience
where she met with a mother and her children who were
receiving assistance, “[Dr. Fish] wanted to give them an
American meal, so we brought pizza and soda. The kids were
really sweet and cute. It was cool to see that even with a
language barrier, play was the same.” She notes that Dr. Fish is
working on a collaborative program between ODU and local
resources to extend supports to the refugee community. Ty’kara
hopes to work on this effort and be part of the project when it
is up and running.

Ty’kara’s book recommendation: Hood Feminism: Notes from the
Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

Pg. 3

HUMANITIES FACULTY
SPOTLIGHT
Professor Greta Pratt, Department of Art

Greta Pratt has been a professor of photography at ODU
since 2007, and a photographer for more than thirty years.
She is concerned with issues surrounding national identity
and myth. Professor Pratt enjoys exploring America and
Americans through the lens of history and how Americans tell
their stories differently over time. This inspiration came from
the road trips she took as a kid with her family, visiting the
historic landmarks and statues. As she grew older she started
questioning the “truths” she was told as a child about
Americans' shared history.

Pratt’s 6-year-long project, A Glimpse of Something Shining,
is a portrait of the mythology of the west—which illustrates
historical themes of masculinity and violence. Her current
project, Tidewater, involves photographing the Tidewater
area to explore climate change. “More so than just the
climate issues, who are the people that live here? Because
some people consider this the birthplace of America.
Jamestown is here and an awful lot of things came through
that harbor—like the first slave ship. Today, we have a varied
mix of people here coming from a variety of backgrounds. So,

Headshot of Professor Greta Pratt

I’m looking at all the people here as kind of a big

conglomeration stemming from this…pretty brutal colonialist history we have, and now the sea is going to
swallow us all.” Both of these projects will be books, and some of her work from A Glimpse of Something
Shining will be on view at William & Mary in a few weeks. You can see photographs from Tidewater at the
Chrysler Museum of Art show titled Water Rising: A View From Our Backyard, and at the Museum of the Moon
event from October 15th-17th.

Professor Pratt teaches photo 2, photo 3, and photo seminar, where advanced students work on their thesis
projects. “It’s really great because it just comes from: ah, what am I going to do? To pushing. The whole
class works together to really push everyone, and it’s amazing the breakthroughs they make.” Professor Pratt
has worked with Humanities’ students in the past, and encourages current students to reach out if they are
working on a thesis or project with a photographic component. She hopes to strengthen open collaboration
between the Department of Art and The Institute for the Humanities, “It would be interesting to design a
class that was just for the Humanities.”

You can find Professor Pratt’s work on her website and view her books here: Greta Pratt: Using History, and
In Search of the Corn Queen.

Pg. 4

ON VIEW NOW
LIFE AND LIMB: WORKS BY MATT
SESOW
By: Brittany Haslem
When first entering the exhibition, you are overwhelmed by a
seemingly endless barrage of colors. The walls are covered
with nearly 400 of Matt Sesow’s works, including some
narrative exposition and drawings the artist painted directly
on the walls. Quietly in the background you hear a mix of ska,
punk, hardcore, and free jazz music—though Sesow prefers to
blast this music while creating, Dr. Cullen Strawn, Executive
Director for the Arts and the Director of the Baron and Ellin
Gordon Art Galleries, chose to give visitors context by playing
the music at a low volume throughout the exhibition.

"Icons" by: Matt Sesow

Matt Sesow’s work is often compared to that of Jean-Michel Basquait, because his artistic style resembles
Basquait’s, but also because the two artists share a history of childhood trauma. When Sesow was 8, he was
playing with friends in a Nebraska airfield and was hit by the propeller of a plane. His left arm was severed
below the elbow. Like many artists, Sesow uses art as a way to express and process the pain of this traumatic
incident, healing along the way.

Each painting has a rich story, and no doubt a full-length textbook could be produced to highlight Sesow’s
work. Should you visit the galleries yourself, I encourage you to take special note of the icon key Sesow himself
provides. He uses a unique set of “icons” to help communicate the meaning of his painting and provide visual
clues to viewers so that they can better understand the story behind each painting. Take the “trauma cup” for
example, which is featured in many of Sesow’s paintings. According to the icon key, the
trauma cup is “a place to put, keep, hold, and produce the emotion. I put an
icon next to my signature to identify the situation in which the painting was
created.” Very rarely do viewers get the opportunity to hear from the artist
themselves about their intention behind a work of art; Sesow’s icon key allows
him to help visitors gain understanding, even when he’s not there.

When Sesow was last in Norfolk, he spent several days in an abandoned
sandwich shop creating paintings specific to Norfolk’s local history. These
paintings feature clipper ships, mermaids, and sailors, among themes of slavery
and the Underground Railroad. Sesow also made a few unique pieces using
coal from Lambert’s Point Coal Terminal in Norfolk.

The ferocious speed at which Sesow can create is truly impressive. The tagline
for his website, which is also featured on the gallery’s wall, is: “Matt Sesow
produces an uncommon and somewhat obsessive number of paintings from
Washington, DC.” Immerse yourself in a sea of colors and at Sesow’s exhibition
through December 18th.

"Underground Railroad"
by: Matt Sesow

Pg. 5

NEWS & EVENTS
Museum of the Moon
The Barry Art Museum presents:
Museum of the Moon by Luke
Jerram. 43rd street between the
Barry Art Museum and the TED
Center will host a pop-up
installation of Earth’s moon, as
well as a 3-night festival
celebrating and interpreting all
things lunar. October 15th-17th.
Free and open to the public!

Find event schedule and more
information here.

Pg. 6

NEWS & EVENTS

HOW TO APPLY

HOW TO SUPPORT

Old Dominion University offers a
Master of Arts degree in the
Humanities. The program allows
students to pursue individualized
programs of study that incorporate
classes from across the University.

Your generosity helps us fund
scholarships, sustain outreach
initiatives, & keep the Institute for the
Humanities at the forefront of socially
progressive and innovative research &
community engagement efforts.

LEARN MORE

LEARN MORE

Pg. 7

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'Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow' opens at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art
Old Dominion University

Matt Sesow, Trumpeting, 2021. Acrylic/oil on canvas board, 36 x 24 inches. From the Collection of Andrew Schneider.

NORFOLK, VA.- Matt Sesow wasn’t always a painter; he discovered his passion in 1994 while working at IBM,
eventually leaving his career in computers to become a full-time artist in 2001. But by his estimates, he’s sold more than
17,000 works, due to his emotional, joyful and in his words, “obsessive” painting.

“Life and Limb: Works by Matt Sesow” will be on display from Aug. 31 to Dec. 18 at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art
Galleries on Monarch Way at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. The show spans Sesow’s career as a self-taught artist,
featuring works inspired by friendship with Baron and Ellin Gordon, and his world travels and residencies, including a
recent week spent in Norfolk.
Early works helped him deal with the personal trauma of losing his left arm at age 8 after being hit by the propeller of an
airplane. He expanded to painting what inspires him, from “trauma icons” to friends’ Instagram posts to war. The
paintings, he said, help to calm his fears and nightmares from the accident.
Sesow and wife Dana Ellyn are both full-time painters living in Washington, D.C. While the show in the Gordon Galleries
is a solo exhibition of Sesow’s work, the two also did a collaborative three-day show and artist talk in August at Vibrant
Shore Brewing in Virginia Beach, and a one-week residency in Norfolk in May, supported by the Rutter Art Foundation,
the University’s Real Estate Foundation, Arts@ODU, and the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries. During that time,
Sesow walked the city for inspiration, then returned to a temporary studio space to create works for the upcoming show.
Residencies are a technique Sesow has used to create in the past, finding inspiration while painting in Costa Rica,
Spain, and California, among others.

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“I pretty much get up in the morning, walk around and get inspired by maybe going to a market or seeing a newspaper,”
he said. “Painting takes a lot of time, and I’ve got to hit it when it’s just right because I can’t just turn on the good
emotional stuff.”
Sesow’s work is also highly influenced by Jean-Michel Basquiat, the artist who rose to fame in the 1980s for bold and
colorful works. A number of Basquiat’s early works will be on display in the Galleries to complement “Life and Limb” and
demonstrate influence.
Sesow has also incorporated a physical piece of Norfolk. Cullen Strawn, the University’s executive director for the arts,
procured and overnighted 13 pounds of coal from the Norfolk Southern Lambert’s Point Yard, with the help of David
Goode, retired chairman, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation. Sesow then ground the coal with a mortar
and pestle to make paint used to create several works for the show. Ellyn has also incorporated the coal paint into her
recent works.
“This is no ordinary exhibition, and it is on the other end of the spectrum from boring – you really need to stand in the
space and see the writing, painting, and drawing all over the walls in addition to the works shown together, and hear
some of the music Matt listens to in headphones while painting to understand just how impactful it is,” Strawn said. “Matt
has collectors around the world, and guests worldwide can visit the show by using our telepresence robot named
Gordon.”
In-person guests can interact with the Galleries’ MagicBox to read illustrated love-story booklets by Sesow and see a
timelapse video of him painting Louis Armstrong playing trumpet in honor of Norfolk’s Attucks Theatre history. The
MagicBox, new to the Gordon Galleries this year, is an interactive display case with a transparent touch screen allowing
interaction with multimedia content

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Archived copy for research · saved for the Matt Sesow Career Chronicle, history.sesow.com, October 12, 2026
Title: Meet the Collectors: David Liebman of Norfolk, Virginia
Publisher: Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, as posted on life.sesow.com
Date: 2021
Original URL: https://life.sesow.com/testimonials/david-liebman-of-norfolk.html
Why it matters: Lender of the 13 early Basquiat works, with his brother Philip Liebman.
Copyright remains with the original publisher. Reproduced for reference and scholarship; contact sesow@sesow.com
with any request.

David Liebman of Norfolk, Virginia
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David Liebman of Norfolk, Virginia

FROM THE BARON AND ELLIN GORDON ART GALLERIES:
We photograph and put three questions to lenders of artworks when they visit the “Life and Limb: Works by Matt
Sesow” exhibition for our “Meet the Collectors” series. David Liebman of Norfolk, Virginia lent several works for the
show and is seen here with 13 of his and his brother Philip Liebman’s works by Jean-Michel Basquiat from the early
1980s.
Q: Tell us a little about yourself. A: I am a lifelong resident of Norfolk and a proud ODU alum, a published wildlife
and plant photographer lucky to be in hundreds of magazines and books including National Geographic, Audubon and
Reader’s Digest, a nature tour guide and frequent lecturer on a variety of topics including botany, zoology, geology and
entomology, a handwriting expert testifying in high-profile cases such as JonBenét Ramsey, a professional trumpet
player performing with acts like The Kingsmen of “Louie, Louie” fame and The Yardbirds, a rehabilitator of wild
animals, judo black belt, entrepreneur, and collector of early Basquiats.
Q: What attracted you to Jean-Michel Basquiat’s art? A: I felt drawn to Basquiat’s art from the moment I first
discovered it. The colors were bright and energetic, and they were filled with strong emotions. His unique artist’s
palette included a variety of mediums - oil paints, ink, markers, crayons, charcoal, pen, pencil, watercolors - and
several were typically combined in a single piece. Basquiat’s canvases could be an old newspaper, a scrap piece of
cardboard, a discarded piece of cloth, an empty wall or any random article. His art reflects a wide range of subjects of
his day including public figures, music, politics and social issues. The breakout style is original, thought provoking and
ingeniously creative. Basquiat’s art opened new doors for future artists. Since I became involved with collecting
Basquiats I’ve read every book and article, and watched every video about his art and his life. I feel like I know him,
and I’ve come to greatly appreciate the person as well as his amazing works.
Q: How did you like the Life and Limb exhibition? A: The Life and Limb exhibition is much more than a display of
Matt’s art. It’s a reflection of his life. The exhibit includes many of his early works, and shows how he evolved over the
years - and how he is still evolving. It’s a strong statement about Matt’s determination to overcome adversity, and turn
that adversity into something creative, meaningful and worthwhile. Like Basquiat, Matt’s art is colorful and dramatic.
He is incredibly talented, creative and prolific. If you have the good fortune to meet Matt in person, you will be
impressed with his love of life that shines through in his artwork. As the public becomes increasingly familiar with his
name and his works, you can expect to see him recognized as an iconic trailblazer in his genre of art.

Thank you, David!

‘A Feature article about David Liebman from “Monarch Magazine” November, 2017 (click image to enlarge):

Matt Sesow, Dana Ellyn, David Liebman (August 2021):

[page 2 machine-read (OCR) from the image]

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Archived copy for research · saved for the Matt Sesow Career Chronicle, history.sesow.com, October 12, 2026
Title: Meet the Collectors: Chris Bogusky of Williamsburg, Virginia
Publisher: Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, as posted on life.sesow.com
Date: 2021
Original URL: https://life.sesow.com/testimonials/chris-bogusky-of-williamsbu.html
Why it matters: Lender interview.
Copyright remains with the original publisher. Reproduced for reference and scholarship; contact sesow@sesow.com
with any request.

Chris Bogusky of Williamsburg
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Chris Bogusky of Williamsburg Virginia

FROM THE BARON AND ELLIN GORDON ART GALLERIES:
We photograph and put three questions to lenders of artworks when they visit the “Life and Limb: Works by Matt
Sesow” exhibition for our new “Meet the Collectors” series. Chris Bogusky of Williamsburg, Virginia lent several
works for the show and is seen here with “Happily Ever After,” acrylic on stretched canvas, created July 31, 2013
during Matt’s 10th annual "31 Days in July" project.
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and how you got started collecting. A: I have been into art forever. I paint, draw, and
do graphic design...so art has been my life and career. As for collecting art, that started later in my 30s and I had a
steady job. What draws me to an artist’s work? The piece of artwork has to speak to me. It could be the colors,
composition or the subject matter...whatever. The voice of that artist connects with me. We hit it off and that work of
art comes home with me.
Q: What attracted you to Matt’s art? A: I discovered Matt’s work at the Baltimore Visionary Arts Museum in the gift
shop of all places. There was a small 4x6-inch painting of a red figure and a yellow bunny hugging. It caught my
attention and I purchased that painting. I then looked into the artist to know more. His work was so colorful, frenzied
and alive. The other thing was his work was approachable so that novice collectors like myself could own a piece of his
work. I even had the opportunity to see him in his studio. I just remember paint everywhere. I was hooked and I have
several large and small pieces of Matt’s at various stages of his growth as an artist. When he told me about the show, I
was all in to show my support and admiration of his talent.
Q: How did you like the “Life and Limb” exhibition? A: The exhibit is fantastic. The range of work displayed is
extensive showing a range of themes and subject matter. You can feel the energy radiating from each painting. That is
what drew me his work.
Thank you, Chris!

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Archived copy for research · saved for the Matt Sesow Career Chronicle, history.sesow.com, October 12, 2026
Title: Meet the Collectors: Denise and Mike Stevens
Publisher: Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, as posted on life.sesow.com
Date: 2021
Original URL: https://life.sesow.com/testimonials/denise-and-mike-stevens-of.html
Why it matters: Lender interview.
Copyright remains with the original publisher. Reproduced for reference and scholarship; contact sesow@sesow.com
with any request.

Denise and Mike Stevens of Franklin, Virginia
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Denise and Mike Stevens of Franklin Virginia

FROM THE BARON AND ELLIN GORDON ART GALLERIES:
We photograph and put three questions to lenders of artworks when they visit the “Life and Limb: Works by Matt
Sesow” exhibition for our “Meet the Collectors” series. Denise and Mike Stevens of Franklin, Virginia lent several
works for the show and are seen here with “Fleeing the Roost,” created in September of 2008 for the play “All You Can
Eat” in San Francisco, California.
Q: Tell us a little about yourselves and how you got started collecting. A: We started going to art shows about 20 years
ago. We had bare white walls that we became tired of, and we needed something to make the walls pop with color!!!
Q: What attracted you to Matt Sesow’s art? A: About 15 years ago The Virginian-Pilot ran a story on Matt’s exhibit in
Virginia Beach. We met Matt and bought our first painting that day
Q: What did you think of the Life and Limb exhibition? A: Fantastic Show!
Thank you, Denise and Mike!