59X47 Inches
Many of the male nudes I painted 1997-99,focused on the torso.the male torso lies in the realm of the Hero and Greek sculptural tradition if not obsession .preoccupied with inventing interesting ways to present a torso, seated upon a horse was one solution.The head of the horse and the mask of the rider became satisfactory compositional elements.this painting retained an academic beauty in sketch form.After applying the first layer of burnt orange paint that preciousness increased.I sat with that picture for one year before cutting it into 60 pieces and popping it out into three dimensions .The deconstruction and reconstruction process requires some courage sometimes a leap of faith.To abandon something which has superficial beauty in order to mine for deeper beauty is a process which includes the risk of total loss.