Courtney Hess and Jonathan D. Glick found themselves in a familiar predicament during the first few months of the COVID-19 lockdown. In May of 2020, after a family gathering was canceled due to increasing pandemic woes, the two cousins began texting each other about their respective difficulties staying motivated in their creative endeavors. Maintaining discipline in their artistic practices had become difficult after adjusting to a new house-bound normal where binging Netflix seemed like the only way to fill endless days.

It was Hess who first suggested a collaboration of sorts. Initially, the two planned to meet for art critiques via Zoom. This evolved into something truly novel: the cousins began taking turns developing collaborative canvases. Every few weeks, the artists exchanged packages of five to eight new and ongoing works. Hess shipped work to Glick in Chicago, and Glick shipped work to Hess in Indianapolis. The only limitation: each piece had to adhere to a 16” x 16” format. Once received, they had full creative license to alter the canvases however they saw fit. A Zoom discussion and critique followed each shipment. Some contributions were minor, and others shifted the entire arc of the canvas. Reactions to changes usually fell within a spectrum of “delight to exasperation.” While a few pieces required only a single exchange, other canvases made the back and forth journey many times.

A substantial body of work culminated over months and months of exchanges. What initially began as a way to stave off inactivity had become a cohesive output worthy of a dedicated exhibition. Covid Collaboration, on display in the Underground Gallery during the month of January, represents the pair’s united effort to find creative motivation and relinquish individual artistic control in pursuit of discovery, comfort, humor, disappointment, and delight.

Courtney Hess & Jonathan D. Glick, *Lid*, mixed medium

During the process of creating Covid Collaboration, the artists learned to trust one another’s creative visions. The two have highly disparate artistic styles and methods. Hess is an abstract expressionist, and Glick is an architect and designer. Hess described the meshing of their approaches as feeling like “a concerto for tuba and violin.” But they made it work. Glick brought precision to Hess’ chaos. This pleasant dichotomy is especially apparent in works like Lid, where a grid-like structure emerges in the center of tumultuous brushstrokes.

Courtney Hess & Jonathan D. Glick, *Higher Math*, mixed media

Don’t let their contrasting styles fool you, however. They both pushed their artistic boundaries during the process, even encouraging one another to experiment by venturing into the other’s stylistic territory. When we spoke, the two chuckled as they relayed that Hess had taken a ruler to a few of the canvases – a method that would be truly foreign in the artist’s solo expressionist work. For this reason, it is difficult to precisely contribute any straight lines or splatters of paint to Glick’s hand or Hess’ hand.

In Covid Collaboration, Hess and Glick have created a bold, inspiring body of work. But perhaps most importantly, the project became a remedy for social isolation and routine disruption, leading to the cultivation of a close friendship.

Covid Collaboration is on view in the Underground Gallery during the month of January. All works are available for purchase and can be viewed online through our online gallery and in-person during regular gallery hours from 9 AM - 5 PM, Monday through Friday.