work > Shelters (2013)

There is a painting in the National Gallery by the Italian painter Gian Battista Tiepolo, called Madonna of the Goldfinch. The child is facing and targeting me when I pass, while the mother looks away. Why does she look away? The boy is keeping a bird in his hand and I recognized that the bird is trapped. By a string it is attached to the child’s hand. No way back to the birdhouse or nest!
Childlike play - even if dyed in Tiepolo’s pink colors - can be cruel. Human nature can be cruel. Nature can be cruel.
Bird’s houses are shelters for the ones who need a rest, the ones who have nothing or are on a journey. Mine look empty and their light and shadows talk about long days.
Who are they waiting for? You or me? Everybody can be a target, can be kept from coming home, from reaching the next shelter.

Chelsea, NY: trash
digital photo on cardboard
2013
Shelter No1
Oil on canvas
2013
Shelter No1 (detail)
oil on canvas
2013
Shelter No2
oil on canvas
2013
Shelter No2 (detail)
oil on canvas
2013
shelters
oil on canvas on cardboard
2013
Shelter No3
oil on canvas
2013
Shelter No3 (detail)
oil on canvas
2013
Shelter No5
oil on canvas
2013
Shelter No5 (detail)
oil on canvas
2013
Shelter No7
oil on canvas on cardboard
2013
Shelter No7 (detail)
oil on canvas
2013
Shelter No8
oil on canvas on cardboard
2013
Shelter No8 (detail)
oil on canvas
2013
Shelter No4
oil on canvas on cardboard
2013
Shelter No6
oil on canvas on cardboard
2013
Shelter No6 (detail)
oil on canvas
2013
Shelter No4 (detail)
oil on canvas
2013