communion

A painterly transubstantiation. See: an elevated slice of pizza blessed as holy communion, a nude woman anoints herself with canola oil, a look of sublime awe fills a person’s eyes while they talk at a picnic as if they are beholding a burning bush or hearing the voice of God. Is it the blood of Christ, or is it ketchup? Through this reverencing of the playful irreverent, I consider the traditions of western religious painting, subtly tweaking meaning to weave new spiritual narratives inspired by valued relationships. The poet Wo Chan writes, “What can friendship do for us?” Through friendship we encounter the divine. Paralleled with sharing the Eucharist at the common table, I search for transcendence within everyday gatherings between family and friends. By looking for the divine through groupings, gestures and conversations, both public and private, I reconsider the overlooked, seeking enlightenment in our present era.

The subjects include myself, family members, and friends. I choose effulgent colors from intimate memories and paint with them to convey mood. Crafts like crochet and quilting, passed down to me by my grandmothers, are referenced in grid-like patterning within my paintings. A more colorful rethinking of Agnes Martin’s theories on the grid’s inherent sublimity, these patterns demarcate a space for meditation, but also reference personally remembered objects loaded with emotion, like the checkered tablecloth at my grandmother’s house. Withheld visual information in the paintings alludes to my memory gaps and slippages. I’m mystified by the way I can forget all of a face except its expression, all of a place save a singular color of light, even when those places and people once meant everything to me. I paint from these images, alluding to the spiritual significance of quotidian moments, with consideration to what holds these memories within me: why I recall some but not others. The most transcendent things are often hidden within overlooked togetherness: the simple meal, the passing conversation.