LAND OF PRAYERS

Casein on wood panel, 2019-2023

 

THE LAND OF PRAYERS, 2022, 72 by 72 in.

LAND, 2021, 36 by 72 in.

 

UNDERWAVE, 2021, 12 by 24 in.

 

The Land of Prayers series began during an intense period of immersion in the writings of spiritual teachers and sages that manifest throughout these paintings.

 

BLUE, 2023, 8 by 22 in. Private Collection

 

RADIANT II, 2023, 14 x 33 in.

James Baird Gallery Collection

 

HAND, 2023, 24 by 48 in

 
 
 

The approach of these paintings differs from the minimalist works made during the previous decade. The oval shape that recurs in all the previous works along with a monochromatic palette gives way to a space populated with organic shapes and a multitude of marks and overlapped spaces, they remind us of a place that is however, unknown.

They are dynamic, fluid but slow, and although we can associate a reference to the Chinese landscape, their verticality here reflects a connection with the spiritual realm, with the ground of the soul -as Meister Eckhart refers, where prayers form and dissolve.

And as it is the nature of change, oil paint got replaced by casein. Casein is an ancient paint, originally used by the Egyptians and later by some impressionist painters as a form of distemper. It is a water-based paint and its pigments and texture are earthy and grounding.

 
 

ANGEL, 2021, 72 by 36 in. Private Collection

This painting was commissioned during a period of personal inquiry about the self and the nature of art. The only request for the painting was that it needed to be blue.

I experienced the challenge from the silence that was present, accessing a depth that connected those inquiries as a whole. The limited palette certainly helped and paved the way for the Land of Prayers.