View and bid on Tierney Malone’s piece in The Glasstire Auction here.
Houston-based artist Tierney Malone talks to Glasstire about Willie Nelson, the importance of family, and the politics of our current moment.
Tierney Malone, You Were Always on My Mind, 2020. Gouache, mixed medium on paper, 10 x 8 inches, 16 x 13 inches with frame
How are you doing?
If I had been asked the question a couple weeks ago I would have had a totally different answer. I would have said me and my wife and our 2 year old little girl have been making the best of this time by being thankful for our family and health. Today, I will have to say that it seems like I’m in a movie that was first about a worldwide pandemic that is ravaging the African American community, but now the plot has taken on another twist where I have to not only be cautious of this virus, but also be deftly concerned about the chances of losing my life by the people hired to serve and protect. I have two sons out in the world making their way, so it is all a little stress-making, especially sense I don’t know yet how this movie will end for me.
Tell us about your auction piece in the Glasstire auction.
The piece I donated is a study drawing from a series I was working on about country music. The song is Willie Nelson’s, ‘Always On My Mind,’ recorded in 1982. The piece is a visual interpretation of the lyrics, and like a record playing on repeat, the thoughts of the love that was lost is ever present.
What do you do to de-stress?
I reach out and talk to my crew, made up of a few cats who are fellow passengers on the raft of the Medusa with me. So there is not a lot of explaining that has to be done because we are all on the same journey in our own ways. Talking, not texting, on the cellphone, strictly observing social distancing of course.
How is the pandemic affecting your work?
Not unlike many other artists in the city and around the country, I have had a few major projects cancelled or indefinitely postponed because of the virus. My mind is always dreaming and creating, so I am still making work, just without the urgency I usually impose on myself. I’m striving to be more mindful of my family and especially my daily evolving daughter during this time, because she will only be two once, and if not for the quarantine I would be greatly distracted by work.
