Artist creates upbeat COVID-era art for Greenwich exhibit because 'people want to smile again'
May 22, 2021 - Greenwich Time | Justin Papp
GREENWICH — In early 2020, Guy Stanley Philoche was riding a wave of success.
After years of struggling, the New York-based artist had just had a sold-out solo exhibition in Chelsea. Philoche could barely produce enough works to meet the demand of his growing list of collectors, which by then included Fortune 500 companies and celebrities.
His plan, at the time, was to buy a $20,000 Rolex watch with his earnings. In hindsight, he acknowledged that the purchase might seem self-indulgent. But it felt like a sign to Philoche, 44, who was born in Haiti and immigrated to Connecticut as a child, that he had really made it.
But the watch was never purchased. In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, decimating New York City and disrupting the art world that had nurtured Philoche for more than two decades. His peers struggled to support themselves as galleries and museums closed and sales of art slumped considerably.
Newly prosperous and gaining momentum, Philoche made the surprising decision to share the wealth....
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