"Myth and Reality"
Oil,14"x8"
I have some really exciting news to share. My painting of the goddess Venus with some of her children has been accepted into the "Visions of Venus/ Venus' Visions" show at the Zhou B Haus der Kunst Art Center in Chicago, IL.
The show is presented by Poets and Artists, an online site for creative people which is the brainchild of poet and champion of visual artists Didi Mendendez. It was curated by Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt.
About "Myth and Reality":
Artists were invited to consider the Venus myth and interpret her in our own individual ways. I grew up reading D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths and was interested in how mythology can speak to the modern mind. Behind the flashy magnetism of Venus there is a mother who is married to the god Vulcan who has had children from a variety of lovers. Who takes the kids to day care in the morning? I'm betting it's Venus.
I've also been spending some time in the Prado over the past few years and at some point during my visits I go into the room that holds Goya's Black Paintings. You can't help but be shocked by his "Saturn Devouring his Son" and I think I was influenced by his gray/red color palette. I wanted to contradict that image of cannibalism and horrendous parenting (that's putting it mildly) with a rather whimsical image of a mother goddess trying to collect and manage her brood. Again, inspired by these black paintings, I purposely populated my little painting with not particularly realistic looking figures.
The show opens on April 20th and runs until June 8th, 2018.
For a link to the Artsy site that tells you more about the work and the show, click here.
For a slideshow which showcases the work featured at the show click on this link to Poets and Artists.
