This series of figure paintings for a show at Archway Gallery in 2001.
Push was the signature piece for the show and contrasts with my female nudes of the past. For in this work, the figure possesses power and energy, pushing against the bounds that hold him, in this case, the very boundary of the painting. Unlike the passive figure in Glimmer of Light, the signature piece from Dark Corners, this figure uses his power to push into the light...and freedom.
Nihilism is in direct contrast to Push. In this work, a strong male figure lies prone, a stone on his chest. The stone is small, and can be removed to grant the man his freedom. But the nihilist accepts fate without protest and thus remains.
The Decision is inspired by Camus famous quote:
"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.
Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the
fundamental question of philosophy." Here is a man taking Camus at his
word.
Original painting SOLD
Climber shows a figure
climbing an endless wall of money. The background consists of thirty
one-dollar bills. This work was an attempt to exorcise my money fears
(it didn't work).
Original painting $125
Shadow Heart and The Visitor recalls many of the works from Dark Corners, with more sophisticated shadow work. They elicit feelings of alienation, vulnerability and fear.
Joan of Arc is a portrait of the very mysterious historical figure. Here is a woman who heard voices of angels at the age of thirteen, telling her that she would be the one to liberate France. She was to eventually lead an army, relieve the siege of Orleans and ultimately be burned at the stake for heresy. In this work, the Gothic arch (echoed in her hairline) indicates her historical period, her position of prayer that she is a religious figure, and the dagger that she is a warrior.
Here. Now. is influenced by this quote from Pascal: "When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and after, the little space I fill, and even can see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of space of which I am ignorant, and which knows me not, I am frightened, and am astonished at being here rather than there, why now rather than then." The figure sits in contemplation of the generations before him and the space that he will occupy in the vast timeline of history, here symbolized by the tree rings.
Original painting SOLD
Original painting SOLD
Original painting SOLD
Original painting SOLD
Original painting SOLD