Now gently put the...

Curator’s Comment:  

Now Gently Put the Pain Body to Rest captures the imagination with its somewhat illustrative narrative, but leaves much room for ambiguity of emotional content.  I like the tension between the two figures, separated in space by a physical plane.  They appear to be somewhat unaware of each other’s existence, or perhaps are one in the same. The entanglement of lines (vines/fauna?) further obscures the imagery, but lends themselves to visual connectors between compositional elements.  I’m intrigued by what I perceive to be a rawness or bleakness in the mood caused by the minimal coloration, while the piece stirs dramatic sensory emotion. Not quite achromatic, the copper colored veins in the top section charge the space with supernatural, fantastical light. The watery bottom section of the work serves to float or suspend the scene in a point of flux or transition. I also like the piece entitled Venus and Nars (Mars?).  The softness of the figurative forms varies from the edgy depiction of the dual figures in Pain Body, but there is also a sense of dichotomy. In this drawing the more voluminous (Venus) figure seems to have awareness of her Other, but the bisection of the picture plane also enforces their physical, if not spiritual separation.