Tribute to Max Gleason, Vanessa Bley, Lucienne and Desmond
Many of you know by now that Max Gleason, one of the stalwarts of Silo118, has suffered an unimaginable loss. His wife Vanessa Bley and their two children, Lucienne and Desmond, were killed in an act of violence by a stranger on October 25, 2019.
That’s all I am going to say about this. There are news articles if anyone wants more information. This is about my experience with Max and his family and the gallery.
Max and Vanessa came into the gallery in early 2017. He said he would like to show me his work. We made an appointment for a studio visit (I had a sixth sense about this artist).
The rest is Silo118 history. I showed his work many times - simply because it is exceptional.
During visits to his studio and home on several occasions, I also got to know lovely and multi-talented Vanessa and their baby girl, Lu (Lucienne). But by the time Des was born last June, I had already closed the gallery and moved to L.A., so I never had the opportunity to meet him, which is a great sadness for me.
Whenever we showed any of Max’s work, the entire Gleason contingent showed up in support. They are a large and raucous bunch and it was always great fun when they were on scene. We wanted Vanessa to do a concert on our outdoor “patio” once, but she was very pregnant with Lu and didn’t feel up to it. She was an exceptional musician and songstress that I once was privileged to hear in a private concert at the Granada theater in Santa Barbara - just Max, his dad Kevin, and me - while she was recording a new CD.
Once the children came into this world, they were fixtures in Max’s studio. He had to learn to juggle painting with parenting and he did it well. Much of the art of those years is about family. Vanessa is his muse; many paintings are of her. The children made it onto canvas as well.
One of my very favorite memories of Max, Vanessa and Lu was when Silo118 hosted a live painting pop-up in an empty Santa Barbara storefront in November 2017. Max and Vanessa worked on the painting together, with Vanessa wearing 6 month-old Lu in a front-facing pack. Starting with a blank 7 foot square canvas, they took large brushes and palette knives and bathed the canvas in color. It was enchanting. The most fun of all though was the baby’s reaction - every move that Vanessa made, Lu made too. Bending over to fill the brush, straightening up to throw paint, up and down, wild arm gestures - and Lu watching, watching, watching, totally absorbed. You knew that given the chance she would have grabbed a brush and begun throwing paint herself. Maybe no brush required! I loved seeing their dance.
I want to tell you that Max is painting. He says it is saving him. But at the moment he is on a solo journey down the west coast, seeing friends, taking time, meditating. He has a huge network of support, from a large loving family, to more friends than anyone can count, to complete strangers reaching out when they hear the story.
He wrote a post on facebook that went viral - and for me, gave me hope that in his shock and grief he was able to recognize that he has more chapters, that there is more to be written in the life of Max Gleason. He is truly an exceptional man of love and integrity who has much more to do on this planet. The message that Max wants everyone to hear is that it is love that will conquer evil. In his words 4 days after the deaths of his family:
“Stop moving around. Stop all your busywork. Live in the essence [of what’s real and now]. Touch the people that you love. Hold quiet space with them. Feel them. That is all we have. It is all you have right now, it is all you ever will have. That is the whole point to anything.”
Sending much love to you Max.
New Album: “Summer” by Vanessa Bley
October 25, 2020
“In June 2018 Vanessa recorded this album at the Granada Theater in Santa Barbara, CA. The compositions are completely improvised. They were never rehearsed prior to recording, nor were they ever played again afterwards. They are a moment in time.
“I edited together this video with gorgeous footage of Vanessa shot by Sunny Khalsa. The precious footage of Lu was shot by V. This is the world we created and lived in. It was magic. One year ago today one man destroyed this world. Let us remember the magic, beauty and love that Vanessa brought to us. Even though she is no longer with us in flesh, the beauty that she created can never be destroyed.
“This is the first posthumous album of Vanessa's. There are more to come...”
-Max Gleason
Stream the full album on Spotify or wherever you stream music.
Rootskeeper, an environmental non-profit, is doing work that Vanessa Bley was passionate about. If so moved, please send donations in her honor. www.rootskeeper.org/donate