Opening reception: October 20th | 5–7pm

Jack Fischer Gallery presents trump papers (hoisted by his own petard), a series of paintings by artist Ward Schumaker.

Five hundred years ago, on Oct. 31, 1517, the small-town monk Martin Luther marched up to the castle church in Wittenberg and nailed his 95 Theses to the door. The operating title for this series was broadsides, as a way of invoking Luther’s "performance". But in this case, the artist has painted 38 pieces.

 “I am an artist, a painter––often of books. Big, messy, one-of-a-kind books, containing stenciled lettering, sloppy calligraphy, approaching and many times accomplishing incomprehensibility.

Subject of the books? Beauty, for the most part, but including snippets of spiritual texts, fragments of dreams, as well as inscrutable instructions. Not for the reader in search of plot, betterment or popular imagery. And nothing political. Never anything political.

But then the night of horror arrived, the night Donald Trump was elected president.

Soon after, I painted my first political work: a book of quotes by the new president and his minions: Hate Is What We Need. Chronicle Books published a small-scale, facsimile edition of it and I assumed that would be the end of my involvement.

But, to paraphrase Mitch McConnell: the man persisted.

So I painted another book: The Administration of Cruelty and Stupidity.

Still, the relentless news from the Trump White House prevented me from returning to my previous non-objective work. I began creating broadsides, large hand-painted works-on-paper, again quoting the president, but including the words of those who have fought against him or have suffered from his policies.

We call them: Trump Papers (hoisted by his own petard) and we hope you'll drop by to see them. And vote.” - Ward Schumaker