Courtesy of the artist, Zinc Contemporary, and Taymour Grahne.
Boy with a Black Eye and Barbary Dove - is a very personal painting for me. My son was being bullied at school. Another student came up from behind him and slammed his head into a locker, giving him a black eye. At around the same time, our cat ate his pet dove, Larry. It was my fault, actually, because I left the cage door open. Larry had absolutely no self-preservation instinct. If she was scared, she would just freeze. The cat slept on top of her cage for years awaiting this opportunity. I felt terrible about this. Also, it made me think about what it means to be a dove. Why didn’t Larry fly away? Why is my gentle son bullied by these thugs? Maybe this painting belongs with nest robber. They are worried mother paintings.