The Survivor
The second
floor of the Newark apartment that Kevin Sampson, 61, shares with his
34-year-old son is crammed with the intricate, inventive sculptures
created by the former Scotch Plains, N.J., cop and self-taught artist.
He’s
represented by the Calvin Morris Gallery in Chelsea and sells his works
for $5,000 to $20,000 apiece. Sampson says he’s lucky if he makes
$10,000 a year from art. His $25,000 early-retirement pension pays the
rent, and a teaching-artist position at the Rutgers University Paul
Robeson Gallery pays for his food.
Rent costs
Sampson $1,100 a month, which is cheaper than it could be, but the
landlord—who runs a window-making shop around the corner where Sampson
works when he’s hard up for cash—“protects me,” Sampson said.
He is
considered the leader of a small group of older artists in Newark trying
to hang on as an influx of younger artists flee the high prices of
Manhattan and Brooklyn, in turn driving up rents in New Jersey’s biggest
city.
“Newark is
a mess,” he said. “We need new people, but I want to make sure that the
artists who stayed here when nobody wanted Newark don’t get lost in the
shuffle—that our legacy continues. I’m like the ringleader, raising
hell.”
No comments:
Post a Comment