Rob Pruitt (b. 1964)

"Then there are the Suicide Paintings. I can’t say they have nothing to do with literal attempts at taking one’s own life—I’ve had moments in my past where I’ve contemplated it—but I actually consider the paintings to be more about exit doors in social situations. For instance at an art opening I might get a lot of social anxiety and I’m always conscious of where the exit doors are within the space that I’m in so that I can flee immediately if I need to. These paintings began to serve that metaphor or even a meditative function – to be able to look at the painting and think about a way to another place."
-Rob Pruitt