Artist Statement
2017

“…el corazon, que agita su marco…” from Gracias a la Vida by Violeta Parra:  “…the heart, that shakes its frame…”

The heart wraps around itself as it forms in the embryo, creating a spiraling form. Then the pumping action of the mature heart has spiraling in its movement. There are four chambers within the heart and the blood continually slooshes from one to another, to the lungs, back to the heart and then out – to everywhere in the body.

In the two-handed drawings of Red Heart/Blue Heart I am tracking the movement of the heart, the swirling flow of blood within the chambers of the heart, and the reverberations in the surrounding tissue. It’s quite active in there.

The colors jumped straight out of the anatomy books, (and maybe straight out of the election – red state/blue state) but for me red and blue have long been the two essential colors after black. In these pieces the red and blue had an intense conversation. They’re both very strong and they almost fight with each other, but they love each other.

The heart doesn’t beat, it squeezes and releases, it rocks and bounces, it creates time, and pushes life into us, and never ever stops until it does. It is a measure and a guide; it is our longing, our sorrow, and our ever-blooming wonder of love.