Page 92 - maxim art monograph

Ichthys, acrylic on canvas, 2022
“On this forefeast of the Nativity, the painter gives us ICHTHYS (the fish, Greek ichthys, ἰχθύς, is a sym- bol for Christ, an acronym for Ιησους Χριστος Θεου Υιος Σωτηρ = Jesus Christ Son [of] God [our] Savior) marked by a star as he leaps from the vibrant blue life-giving and life-destroying waters. Above, bearing similar colors of red and yellow as the central figure of ICHTHYS, along with the blue reflection of the waves upon his head, the partially submerged figure drifts toward the edge of the tumbling tidal wave. Both figures have their eyes fixed on the small disc of the sun in the upper right-hand corner linking these three in an invisible triangle which deepens the question that is posed by the tension captured be- tween them at this precise moment of the painting.
Dividing water and air is a thin white space, and only the image with two eyes and a partially revealed head unites both water and air. The fish with one eye visible and one hidden, though in the air, is a crea- ture of the water. The man is a creature out of his depths in need of solid rock upon which to regain his balance.” — Stephen Muse
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