{"id":3680,"date":"2015-04-12T23:33:18","date_gmt":"2015-04-13T06:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chezarts.com\/?p=3680"},"modified":"2015-04-12T23:59:48","modified_gmt":"2015-04-13T06:59:48","slug":"faceless-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.chezmana.com\/?p=3680","title":{"rendered":"Faceless Woman"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lamassu,<\/a>

Lamassu, William Henry Goodyear, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

Spring is here, and the bees are dancing around my lavender bushes. I have grown to like them. Their graceful dance brings me a feeling of peace and harmony.<\/p>\n

In the last few months, we have been afflicted by bad news from around the world. From the Charlie Hebdo<\/a> murders in France to the atrocities in Kenya, I found myself unexpectedly distracted and upset by each successive tale of inhumanity. <\/p>\n

Although it was less deadly, the destruction of Nimrud<\/a> made me quite sad. Its ancient artifacts were treasures that are now lost forever. Fanatics seek to destroy the past but they only succeed in impoverishing the future. Is art that dangerous?<\/p>\n

At home, transitions in my project created uncertainty and feelings of lost trust. I wrote on several themes but never published anything. Silence can be golden. I reflected on how senseless things can be and regained my focus. I went back to what brings me peace and solace: discovery and art.<\/p>\n

The fantastic mythological beings, the Lamassu<\/a>, engraved at Nimrud<\/a> were meant to protect the inhabitants but they also connect us to those people who lived so long ago. They are an expression of our common humanity. When I look at them, I am mesmerized by their blend of strangeness and familiarity. They are part bull, part bird and part human and we do not really know what they meant to the people who made them but their forms are very familiar and they convey a feeling of calm strength. The art of a culture expresses the life of its people and brings us close to them. Living peacefully together starts with understanding each other\u2019s cultures.
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\"J\u00e1n<\/a>

J\u00e1n Kov\u00e1lik, “Entangled”<\/p><\/div>
\n\u201cThe way we live\u201d is a subject that deeply concerns the Slovak painter, J\u00e1n Kov\u00e1lik. Kov\u00e1lik has held over 20 solo exhibitions and has taken part in several international ones. He was awarded the Perla dell\u2019Adriatico Grand Jury Prize in Grottammare, Italy. Narration is central to Kov\u00e1lik\u2019s style. He says that \u201cPeople are a constant source of inspiration. My paintings are full of realistic figurative compositions situated in a surrealistic space.\u201d Combining lifelike depiction and metaphorical symbolism, Kov\u00e1lik creates what he calls visual poetry. He reveals people\u2019s motives and feelings, inviting us into the story.<\/p>\n

Entangled<\/em> shows several small groups of people, each in their intimate world, some happy, some less so. Almost invisibly to them, a complex tangled network ties them to each other. Some pull hard on the threads, trying to improve their position. However, their efforts only create more tangles, leaving them exhausted. The happiest figures in the painting seem the least concerned. <\/p>\n

Looking at this painting brought my mind back to the bees.
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