The black squares in some of my paintings take on three dimensions in the form of this glass cube. The setting is some kind of existential wasteland, a non-descript place of change, as indicated by the loose brushwork. It seems as if a wind is blowing, the only thing to ground you is the brown bit of horizon. The hand seems ghost-like, as transparent as the box, defined only by a few lines. The glass cube seems to make the hand a bit more substantial. It is an offering, resting on the outstretched hand, a precious bit of color in a vacuous space, water in a desert.
This could be a metaphor for a few different things. It is a picture about strength and vulnerability. It is about gift-giving. A gift has a part of the giver in it, in the thought required to select it and present it. There is the hope that the receiver will receive it well. I did not always know how to accept a gift graciously. It is easy to slip into practical thinking or to be too much of a connoisseur when looking on a new object coming into one's house. It's better to think about the giver instead of the thing or that the thing is a piece of the giver. Britney Spears, whatever her situation, has it right in her new song, Piece of Me. A performer does put a piece of themselves out there, no matter how private they may or may not want to be.
The painting is not only about giving, but is about extending oneself. It is about taking a risk, going into unfamiliar territory, potentially bruising one's ego (the glass box). The path is not fully illuminated but may be worth exploring.
