Arlene

I went to see Shirin Neshat's show at Barbara Gladstone. The two videos are very beautiful. They are also very female in a way that male work never is. There is always a place of familiarity in her work for me, even though our cultural histories are completely different. The way her eye works is always a door, a window, an invitation, a liberation.
Above is a portrait of a woman and of her funeral. She died very young. The funeral was in Spanish and a very surreal experience for me. I think that what I wanted to do with the painting is not so far from some of Neshat's intents. Its an old painting so the connection is only in my mind, now. It has to do with the deep flowering quality of female energy as well as magic realism.