2019–2020 :: Acrylic Paint on Wood Panel :: 12″x12″
Influenced by the spiritual color explorations of Mark Rothko, the metaphoric painting of Paul Klee and the pop art of Andy Warhol, the Century Series is a powerful exploration of the duplicated icon and of the emotionality of color. Painted in acrylic, every painting begins with the stencil of a skull, the clichéd icon of mortality. Each is as unique as much as replica. To add to their individuality, they often incorporate shimmering interference pigments so they never photograph the same way twice and even change moment to moment with the light or the angle of viewing.
As a group this work addresses the dichotomy between the uniqueness of the individual amid the sameness of the species. Alone they are meditations on the conflict between the beauty of a life lived and its brevity.
To identify each painting they could have been numbered but to avoid the apparent hierarchy that would give them, they have been named. Untitled when displayed individually, when viewed as a group I have given them the names of people that are meaningful to me. They are metaphors for the span of a human life. All names are of individuals born over a century ago, none of whom are alive today—the Century Series.
Ultimately the names matter no more than the specifics of a particular bone found in the Catacombs of Paris. What is important is how they speak to the viewer.
Vitas Brevis
