Countdown to NYC2017

Muerte (twelfth station), oil on linen, 72" x 60" (2 panels), 

In progress, photographed in the artist's studio October 2016

I'm working on the final wall of the “Via Dolorosa” exhibition, which opens in March of 2017.  I am at a strange and exciting point in the work where some important shifts are beginning to take place.  The last few paintings of the show are asserting a different look and feel, one that few may notice in the exhibition, but profound for me nonetheless for where they point in my future studio practice and the work that comes after.

I remain on-target in terms of completion of work.  Most of the paintings are ready for storage until they are shipped next year.

This body of work presented some interesting challenges.  I wanted certain visual phrases to appear throughout the exhibition, uniting certain paintings thematically.  The "failures" each share common gestures, which I believe unites them with the crucifixion.  Similarly, the apparition of the mother and death (pictured above, in progress) compliment each other visually and rely on a visual folding in, or inversion of the pictorial field.  Through paint-handling I'm creating relationships between paintings that speak to the larger theme, albeit abstractly.  The process has given me a tremendous amount of virtuosity in terms of my technique, and the experience of making these paintings has made me a better painter.  That's the gold.  That's what we strive for.