Petya

Petya
Oil
28"x28"

“Carry The Fire”

Despite the perilous setting, the protagonist holds out hope, this painting is one of many of my paintings which show the influence and tone of Russian filmmaker, Andrei Tarkovsky.

The title of the show stems from my strong resonance to Cormac McCarthy’s, “The Road” . In this novel he refers to “carrying the fire”, a phrase used by survivors to convey dogged perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, and also a metaphor of basic human decency.

Phrases and imagery such as this are symbolic when they imply something more than their obvious and immediate meaning. To “carry the fire” has a wide subconscious aspect that is never precisely or fully explained, yet it is compelling nonetheless.

This notion serves me as a creative stimulus and motivation, a guiding light, if you will. My hunger to create imagery in paint is an undefined want, and it must be satisfied. Until the want is satisfied, it is difficult to know the nature of the problem.

My thinking has always been associative, and I like to let the viewer make associations. I would love to have the painting act as a Rorschach, stimulating the viewer’s vital role in the creation of meaning. In this regard, I feel more akin to poetry. Poetry is an awareness of the world, a particular way of relating to reality. They become the participants.

It’s important to have the viewer participate, that way they engage with me. Thereby, I hope to sustain the experience, generate response, and to move beyond the callous and superficial technical abilities. I am not interested in a painting proclaiming: “I was here” , so much as one stirring thought, narrative and questions.

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