How Lonely Sits the City That Was Full of People

The main concept holding all of this work together is that of sacrifice. These paintings do not directly address our new reality. It is not an exhibition about viruses or masks. Instead the creation of these paintings, rooted in sacrifice, were enhanced by being made in such an environment. Although not intended, all of the paintings started with a recognizable image and gave way to almost pure abstraction. I became interested in the idea of people and places emptying out, hence the title of the show- pulled from the opening verse of the book of Lamentations but cut short so as to not imply judgment. 

 

The Forest was originally populated with numerous figures in a procession, but they were eventually consumed by the final form. The grid of geometricized heads represents a handful of contemporary individuals who either sacrificed or were sacrificed for a variety of reasons: war, terrorism, greed. The remaining small, framed works are more pointed in their choice of subjects, contrasting victims of genuine persecution against figures who claim discrimination but in reality have not been asked to sacrifice anything.