A kaleidoscope of experience floods our senses in each moment, and our journey to well-being is a continual refinement of how we weave that rainbow into a story.
The art that you’ll unfold within this newsletter is how I share with you my own story. This is what I’ve witnessed in the world and within my life this week.
It couldn’t be more personal— and yet, it’s universal! What delight… to know that we’re all living and experiencing the same themes and lessons.
As Pema Chödrön writes, “In all kinds of situations, we can find out what is true simply by studying ourselves in every nook and cranny, in every black hole and bright spot, whether it’s murky, creepy, grisly, splendid, spooky, frightening, joyful, inspiring, peaceful, or wrathful. We can just look at the whole thing.”
I’m curious: what do you encounter within yourself when you meet these artworks?
ARGHAVAN KHOSRAVI This sculptural work (layered wood panel with wood cutouts!) brings to life a cultural landscape. Made by Iranian-born artist Arghavan Khosravi, it exquisitely captures the structures in which she – we – live. I am called to ask myself: What structures hold, define, and confine me? What ties my own hands?
I love how her visual language calls forth European renaissance painting, Persian miniature, and even Native American ritual with the feathers at the bottom of the painted dress. This is for the collector who relishes in shared story and sisterhood among women worldwide.
The Battleground, 2022, acrylic on canvas over shaped wood panel, on wood panel and wood cutout, elastic cord, metal and glass beads, feather, brass, 63 x 53 in, Courtesy Rachel Uffner
A close-up of Mimi Lauter’s View From The Garden
MIMI LAUTER I am often asked how to approach abstraction with discernment. For me, the truth is: in abstraction, the work must be felt. I fall in love when I immediately feel something stir in my chest. I have an embodied reaction to the color, the form… I witness an emotion at once with my eyes and within myself. This work is for the collector ready to plunge into the heart space. Soft and layered, it’s a landscape that we encounter in meditation. There’s sadness and unease and absolute beauty.
View From The Garden, 2023, oil pastel and soft pastel on paper, 65.5 x 80 inches, Courtesy Mendes Wood DM ROSE B. SIMPSON This sculptural work is raw. A woman stands tall in her baggage, her body carrying her story. From her, a beautiful, small entity reaches out into the world to be seen and known. Does this represent a child, or an externalization of her inner self? Rose B. Simpson poetically illustrates the living dynamic of being firmly rooted while striving forward into newness. This is for the collector who weaves tribal wisdom into modern awareness.
Two Selves, 2023, Ceramic, steel, grout, twine and hide73 1/2 x 19 x 22 inches, Courtesy Jessica Silverman
ANDY DIXON Dionisian pleasure of the 2020’s… Pastel ecstasy, softened renaissance– this body of work by Andy Dixon stirs in us the desire to let go and fête as if time didn’t exist. This painting is for the collector relishing in abundance.
El Prado, 2023, Acrylic and pastel on canvas, 72 x 110 inches, 183 x 279 cm., Courtesy The Hole
ALVARO BARRINGTON The basketball court, interpreted here in stained glass as a Garden of Eden: a landscape of hope for marginalized communities. This work is a masterful subversion of the mundane into the sacred. The contemporary, played out in an antique medium. This work is for the collector who delights in the power of paradox.
The Garden, Stained Glass for Rodman, Oct 2023, 2023 Stained glass 244 x 183 x 20 cm (96,06 x 72,05 x 7,87 in) 40 Kg, Courtesy Thaddaeus Ropac
