In the Name of the Father

In the Name of the Father belongs to the year of the artist’s father’s death. The unified body disappears and the image fragments into several scenes: a distorted head, an arrow entering the ear, an arm reaching towards an isolated eye, a bird of prey’s talon holding a sphere, a kneeling woman and, behind her, a Descent from the Cross. This construction draws on the longstanding principle of bringing several episodes together within a single image, as found in certain works of Christian painting, notably those of Hans Memling. The title, in turn, shifts the religious formula towards filiation: the father is the one from whom we descend. The image thus gives symbolic architecture to grief and to a private history. Its V-shaped composition forms both an opening and a gathering place: here, loss produces a saturated image rather than an empty space.

Unique piece, handmade by the artist. Signed certificate of authenticity included.