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KM art opened in October, 1998 with an exhibit of Clare Mente's memory paintings, images of growing up during the depression. This second exhibit of his work deals with other memories, first-hand accounts of the world's suffering, seen during 40 years of merchant marine duty throughout the world, often in contracted quasi-military duty. Clare spent six years at the height of the Vietnam War running supplies up and down the Saigon River. He spent time assigned to Diego Garcia, a "secret" naval base in the Indian Ocean. Relief missions to Somalia. The list goes on. Almost every port in the world. And starving children everywhere he went... |
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A frequent motif in these works is the stars and stripes. Clare takes a dim view of the impositions of the first world on the third. Having done his patriotic duty many times over, his visual critique has a special poignancy. He's seen it all, and most of it isn't pretty.
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