Crucible Remains
#crucible2020 derived from envisioning and research-creation initiated in 2019. It was the intentional melting and transformation of a personal archive of encaustic paintings. Wax, a surprisingly stable material isopen to re-forming in the presence of extreme heat. In the time frame of the series, COVID-19 was also bringing a kind of heat to our wax-like and vulnerable existence. Time and energies prompted the question: When is a painting finished? Most of the material dissolved and was captured in sculptural form, the stretchers re-purposed, the canvas conserved for a future work. Other matter persisted, re-incarnated, across decades, stubbornly resisting the process. Intentional. Unexpected. That which remains.

Blessure Survivor 17, 1994/2020, 18" x 18" x 1",
wax, pigment and oil on stretched canvas

Cloud of Unknowing, 1996/2020, 18" x 18" x 1",
wax, pigment and oil on stretched canvas

Beauty at Every Turn, 1999/2020, 18" x 18" x 1",
wax, pigment and oil on stretched canvas

Blessure Survivor 10, 1994/2020, 18" x 18" x 1",
wax, pigment and oil on stretched canvas

back view: Blessure Survivor 10, 1994/2020, 18" x 18" x 1",
wax, pigment and oil on stretched canvas

Signature, 2011/2020, 20" x 24" x 2"
wax, pigment and oil on canvas stretched on wood panel

all one black forest, 2009/2020, 20" x 24" x 2"
wax, pigment and oil on canvas stretched on wood panel
Private Collection

back view: all one black forest, 2009/2020, 20" x 24" x 2"
wax, pigment and oil on canvas stretched on wood panel
Private Collection

Grasp and Release, 1997/2020, 54" x 54" x 1",
wax, pigment and oil on stretched canvas

Amorality Play, 2001/2020, 54" x 54" x 2.5",
wax, pigment and oil on stretched canvas

Net Moment, 2001/2020, 54" x 54" x 2.5",
wax, pigment and oil on stretched canvas
Tumble, 1998/2020, 54" x 54" x 2.5",
wax, pigment and oil on stretched canvas

back view: Tumble, 1998/2020, 54" x 54" x 2.5",
wax, pigment and oil on stretched canvas

Cluster Collide, 1997/2020, 54" x 54" x 2.5",
wax, pigment and oil on stretched canvas