Board I

In collaboration with King David

Oil sealed in resin on African mahogany, 2020

17 x 72 x 1 in.

What is old...and what is new? How do we honor tradition without mimicking the mistakes of the past? The Sea represents primordial chaos, the Ocean appears a seemingly endless expanse; both spew as much life as they take back unforgivingly, both are laden with the souls entombed deep within the atomic memories of our planet. Histories have been written and erased in water, heroes made and voices smothered, yet through such immense loss, we continue to earnestly search and discover, deep inside the bowels of our forgotten mother, a beauty and wonder not unlike when we look to the stars. Something is familiar; we feel at home.

Chaos and collaboration are in close conversation here. King David’s thick, turbulent oils cry out like the frothing of a violent surf, a texturally charged meditation with the ancestors through a medium wrought with complex euro-transatlantic influence. Yet here this meditation sits, on a board shaped by Gregory Barton and sealed in protective resin with Matthew Barton, Greek-heritaged artists whose close friendships and shared cultural passions have fueled the creative energies of all 3. All are connected by the shared material, the shared process, and the shared knowledge that without a humble appreciation for our histories and roots, we could never be where we are now. The material of the board itself: African Mahogany.

The sale of this piece benefits Art Start.