Concordia (2015) –Now at Principle Gallery
When our universe is in harmony with man, the eternal, we know it as truth, we feel it as beauty.
–Rabindranath Tagore, The Religion of Man {1931)
When I finished this larger painting back in 2015, it was its feeling of peace and harmony that first hit me. That feeling in this piece hasn’t left me in the past decade.
I saw the Red Tree here as both an observer and a participant in the wonder of the harmony surrounding it, as though it was conductor before an orchestra who stands rapt by the music being produced which creates harmonies of color and form that whirl through its mind.
The rolls of the fields as well as their darker tones represent the beginning of harmony, as form and rhythm are found. These rolls transition, with the Red Tree’s guidance, into the warmer colors of the fields in the middle of this piece that then move towards a blank and distant horizon, representing the eternal nature of harmony.
The world is right. All is as one.
In that moment, the title that came to me was Concordia. Corncordia was the ancient Roman goddess of peace, harmony, and unity. It seemed like a fine fit then and it still feels right.
Concordia is, as I said a above a larger painting, measuring 36″ by 36″ on canvas. It is included in Flow, this year’s edition of my annual solo exhibit at the Principle Gallery. The Opening Reception for this exhibit, my 27th consecutive at the prominent Alexandria gallery, is next Friday, June 12, running from 6-8:30 PM.
I will be there, come Hell or high water. Over the past 27 years of shows, there have times of both and we’re still going. That wasn’t a sure thing just a few months ago when I was struggling with my treatment and my time at work suffered. But the show has come together extremely well.
The world contained within it is right and I find myself being pretty damn proud of it.
That might be a boldly foolish statement, but I am going with it, nonetheless.
Here’s a wonderful composition from Claude Debussy that is indicative of what I see in this piece. It is his Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun from 1894. It runs about ten minutes but this performance from the Berliner Philharmoniker is worth a few extra minutes.
Maybe it will put your world into a state of peace and unity that you can carry into the rest of your day.
Maybe not. Who knows? Either way, it is a marvelous piece of music.
So, listen quietly and happily or get out before you screw up my little bit of oneness with the world.
You do know I am joking when I say stuff like that, right?
