ROPHETIC VOICE: 

Van Morrison:

"too long in exile
too long not singin' my song"

24" x 18"

Italinan smalti, marble, slate, on board
 

 

PROPHETIC VOICE:

Leonard Cohen

"there is a crack in everythingthat's how the light gets in"

 

14" x 16"

marble, Italian smalit, faceted labradorite, raku tile, biblical text  on board

 

PROPHETIC VOICE: 

Vincent van Gogh

 24" x 18"

Italian smalti, shell, marble, aventurite

 

 

 

PROPHETIC VOICE: 

The Apostle Paul

" now we see through

a glass darkly"

 40"x30"

acrylic, biblical text, varnish 'mosaic'

 

 

PROPHETIC VOICE: 

Bob Dylan

" the times

they are a changin'"

 

36" x 15"

acrylic on canvas

 

MOSAIC, PROPHETIC VOICES

Peer Gallery, October, 2009

For Sldeshow click here

 

About the theme

"Prophecy is wild, untamed: it breaks open rusted doors and smashes through windows that have become too stained to let in the sun. Prophecy is not a special ability to foresee the future, but an ongoing struggle to produce an accurate reading of the present. Regardless of origins or audience, prophecy is a wake-up call, reminding us that the qualities that make us human -- love, mercy, and justice -- are the same as those that make us divine.

 

Prophets are not heroes -- nor do they wish to be. They are the unconditioned among us: those who resist the seduction of stagnant religion and popular culture. Prophets are those who have seen what we have not, even when we have been looking closely at the very same things. They are passionate, determined, and perhaps more than a little demanding, but we are drawn to them anyway. Perhaps it is because we know, somewhere deep within ourselves, that they have caught sight of a truth that eludes us.

 

In the spirit of the Buddha, who is reported to have said 'Don't follow the teacher, go where the teacher points,' this exhibition celebrates prophecy and the diverse individuals through whom it continues to be delivered. Prophetic voices, from Micah to Dylan, Rumi to Cohen, Dr. Deepak to Dr. Suess, call us to the self-reflection required for a positive transformation of ourselves and our world."

About the art

This body of new works is influenced by my recent study of ancient Byzantine and Roman mosaic methods in Ravenna, Italy. Italian smalti (thick opaque glass ), marble, local river rock, and semi-precious gems and minerals collected from around the world as tessera (the small pieces that make up a mosaic) have been individually cut with the same kinds of hand tools used by mosaic builders in the fifth century. Allowing aesthetics to override precision, the tessera are positioned to create an uneven surface, thus creating the effect of dancing light.

The paintings in the exhibition are inspired by the mosaics. Using acrylic paint in layers (which include torn pages of biblical text), brush strokes are applied to simulate a mosaic surface.