The Wedding Show

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Ehe New York Cimes

The New Hork Gi : : pte et Weddings/Celebrations Dana Ellyn, Matt Sesow

Dana Ellyn and Matt Sesow were married Friday evening at the Long View Gallery in Washington. Jennifer Kalmanson, a humanist celebrant, officiated. The bride, 38, and the bridegroom, 43, who are painters, have their work on display at the gallery.

The bride is keeping her name. She graduated from George Washington University. She is a daughter of Gail Kaufman of Tamarac, Fla., and Michael Kaufman of Jacksonville, Fla. Her father works in Jacksonville as the chief executive of Kb Sound, which makes and sells audio and electrical products.

The bridegroom, 43, graduated from the University of Tulsa. He is a son of Deb Sesow and Bill Sesow of Marana, Ariz. His mother retired

as the coordinator of special education at Humann Elementary School in Lincoln, Neb. His father retired as an associate professor of education at the Teacher's College at University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

The bride’s first marriage ended in divorce, as did the bridegroom's.

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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967

Vol. XLIII, No. 5

THE NorTHWEST CURRENT

ORTHWEST ASSAGES

The People and Places of Northwest Washington

Till death they'll do art: Creative couple plans to wed at art show

By JESSICA GOULD Current Staff Writer

jor Matt Sesow and Dana F Ellyn, the journey

from the easel to the sle has spanned eight-and- a-half years, two apartments and countless pots of paint.

It will culminate Friday, when the couple exchanges vows at the Long View Art Gallery at 1234 9th St. NW.

‘The wedding is free and open to the public, and it will double as an opening for their show “Art Brings Us Together: Till Death Do Us Part,” featuring new works about love, commitment and marriage.

Doors will open at 6:30 pam.,and the nuptials are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. In lieu of presents, the

Ellyn first met Sesow at Aroma, a Cleveland Park bar/gallery where he was showing his work. She was immediately

struck by the force of his paintings,

which she said were filled with a kind of fury.

One piece in particular stuck with her: a portrait of a man with his pet pig headed to slaughter.

“It was different from anything I'd ever seen,” she said.

At the time, Sesow was still reeling from a divorce, and much of his art centered on life with a disability.

“L was of the mind that I had to be wacky, reckless,” said Sesow,

who lost his left arm when he was hit by a small plane as a child.

Ellyn, on the other hand, was working to shake the influence of art history classes she’d taken in college. “I was really trying to find my voice,” she said.

As the two artists fell in love, their paintings began to evolve, and even converge at times. Call it a total eclipse of their art.

Sesow maintained his broad brush strokes and bold colors, but his images lost some of their vio- lence. “It’s not a bird flying into a fan or a car anymore,” he said. “It’s

a bird.”

Ellyn, meanwhile, became more abstract and sarcastic in her art, Now she’s more likely to be the one painting a bird head- ed beak-first into a fan.

Her wedding show paint- ings, for example, are dystopian meditations on marriage, from a portrait of a couple hiding weapons behind their backs to a repur- posed photograph of herself as a bride with her fingers in an electrical socket

A casual observer might think that she’s upset, or — at the very least — that she has

cold feet. But Ellyn said the truth is just the opposite She's so happy, in her life and in her relationship, that she feels free to engage dark- er themes. “If it doesn’t get

‘Today is so good,” sl

For Ellyn, Sesow guy you win at the end of the movie.”

And Sesow is inspired by Ellyn, who, he said, is living every girl's dream. “She’s got the studio in the big city, sipping her coffee, watch- ing the snow, painting.”

For years, they've considered themselves married, and every trip they've taken became their honey- moon.

But they've both guarded their independence, even maintaining separate apartments —

Adams Morgan, hers in Penn

Sarah Massey/Massey Media Matt Sesow, left, and Dana Ellyn have a passion for art and each other. On Friday, they will tie the knot at the opening of their new art show, “Art Brings Us Together: Till Death Do Us Part,” at Long View.

Quarter.

“The way I paint is so expres- sionist and emotional. It wouldn’t be fair to Dana,” Sesow said. “I go to bed and there's paint all over

me. I wake up and there’s paint all ‘over me. I couldn't imagine living any other way.” Neither could Ellyn, who adores See Wedding/Page 23

WEDDING From Page 17

her apartment — a subsidized studio for artists — and the silence that fills the room while she’s waiting for her inspiration to hit. Instead of kibitzing over their morn coffee, they iChat before they begin their day. In the afternoon, they often meet for a run. They say they don’t expect their lives to change one bit once they wed. “We're

giving each other free rein to grow, Sesow said. “The big challenge is where our art goes.”

So why get married? m marrying Dana because I love her,” Sesow love the lifestyle. I love the idea of the future we'll have together.”

And, he said, it’s a publicity stunt. It’s PR for us and our art,” Sesow said, noting that he’s created 100 paintings priced at $100 for the show.

“It’s also PR for our families. We want

* [Living together] wouldn't be fair to Dana. | go to bed and there's paint all over me. | wake up and there’s paint all over me. | couldn't imagine living any other way.*

— Matt Sesow

Ellyn said people who have heard about the event doubt there will be a real ceremo- ny. There will, “We're absolutely getting

married at the show,” she said. But the cere- mony will be secular and short, and the wed- ding won't have any of the trappings of the typical matrimonial affair. “No flowers. No garters,” she said. “Maybe a bowl of pret-

zels. And plenty of art.