“The Universe”
72”x 60” x 1 1/2″
Acrylic and Charcoal on Canvas
I love for art to feel cinematic- how it takes over your senses as it draws you in emotionally. This is partly why I love painting so big. I want my paintings to feel like they are experienced rather than just looked at. There’s more dimension there, even though they are flat. There’s movement and energy even though the image is static. A narrative among the abstraction.
“The Universe” is a homage to a work by Sengai Gibson, a Zen painter, I saw years ago at the Kennin-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan.
“The circle-triangle-square is Sengai’s picture of the universe. The circle represents the infinite, which is the basis of all beings. But the infinite in itself is formless. We humans, endowed with senses and intellect, demand tangible forms. Hence, a triangle. The triangle is the beginning of all forms. Out of it first comes the square. A square is a triangle doubled. This doubling process goes on infinitely, and we have a multitudinously of things, which the Chinese philosopher calls ‘the ten thousand things’, that is, the universe.” Suzuki
It’s interesting how these shapes resonated with me, and I have long revered their simplicity and complexity. Like a Zen riddle, it’s infinitely deep and meditative, but also, these are the shapes that make up everything we see. ◼️🔵🔺
