Umbrella Effect
Acrylic on Wood Panel, Brazilian Rosewood, Stained Glass, Aluminum Channeling
41 3/4"x 41 3/4"
This work first debuted in the Off the Wall exhibition in Biltmore Village, and it was the landmark masterwork that opened the door to my first studio at Foundation Studios. Standing vigilant in the center of that gallery as 24 feet of muddy flood water seeped through our doors covering stories, dreams, and years of work in a thick layer of mud. When Hurricane Helene struck, I thought this painting was gone forever…
Painted with a palette knife on a wood panel. This work pushes beyond the canvas, incorporating framing as part of the artwork itself. Designed and built from Brazilian rosewood, Utile (sometimes called Sipo Mahogany), and aluminum channeling to incorporate stained glass custom-designed by Alan Hargraves. Every inch holds purpose. Prisms set into the glass bend light into refracted rainbows. Dichromatic glass prisms and squares curate a unique perspective producing entirely different colors determined by the angle they are observed reinforcing how perspective can shift realities sparking debate as to what the actual color of the piece might be. The best way to understand another viewer's perspective is to quite literally stand in their shoes!
The umbrellas within the composition represent continents, nations, and borders. Each united in their declaration: to shield us from the storm. The storm itself is constant, a metaphor for the cycles of struggle, change, and conflict that touch us all. When we harm one another, when we divide or hoard, we forget that what washes over one inevitably touches us all.
We are but stewards to this world and it is our duty to help those caught in the storm find shelter. We are creatures of this planet; no matter our economic, social, or cultural status, we only borrow this world from those who come after. We hold an unspoken responsibility to maintain the intricate beauty, to make this home habitable for the next generation. The reality of making the big changes in this world looms understandably impossible to undertake. But each day we have the opportunity to raise the lowest link just one bar higher. To undertake easing the storm of another, to raise the bar not increase the burden.
We are the Umbrella Effect
