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Oliver Hazard BensonReturn of the Goddess - Original Painting of Surreal, Symbolic Goddess Figure2018
2018
About the Item
As is generally the case with my paintings, this work proceeded from a place of unknowing. The specificity of imagery and technique belie the non-specific character of the ideas and narratives presented. The imagery is not tied to any pre-existent source (textual or other). It is not preconceived by the artist, rather it is produced spontaneously in the process of painting. That said, it seems both easy and sensible to connect the imagery in this painting to common cultural material, especially that from very ancient sources. The central figure is very much like a totemic Neolithic goddess- the sort of which seem to be among the most ancient artistic works, examples are extant from eras stretching back tens of thousands of years. A lot has been written about figures of that kind but of course no one can reasonably claim to truly understand them. Here the great goddess appears with wings and entwined serpents. Crowned also with a glowing orb she has become an emblem of a matristic hermetica. The smaller figure may be less evidently archetypical. She is a younger goddess, a daughter like Persephone to Demeter. She lifts the breasts of her mother signifying perhaps how the presence of the child evokes the nurturing qualities of the mother or how Persephone’s seasonal ascent from the underworld awakens in her mother the impulse to again give life to the world. The cluster of gynomorphic figures contained by the crescent moon at the center of the painting refer to the balanced transformations of the lunar cycle and their mysteriously harmonic physical manifestation in the vital cycles of a woman’s body. At their axis is the cycloptical abdomen of the figure enthroned on the moon. The entire totem rises from a terrestrial gateway into an open landscape. In the background megaliths obscure the horizon. They represent a first boundary in time- the beginning of history. Below is the gateway, the opening to an inner earth flooded with undifferentiating purple light. This refers to the timeless age that preceded history, before human beings were bound by any concept of time, systematic thinking or self-conscious behavior. This was the time of the goddess, when nature (human and universal) was absolute and unmodified by the many artificialities and distortions that are so inevitably, so inescapably part of civilized life.
Oliver Hazard Benson
Return of the Goddess
acrylic on panel
23h x 17w in
58.42h x 43.18w cm
Oliver Hazard’s paintings are produced directly from his imagination and deals with a mixture of imagery he has witnessed in his travels, dreams, and read about in literature. The artist is influenced by Taoism and European occultism, especially the movements of the late 19th and early 20th century. Hazard is also inspired by Surrealism and the Viennese school of Fantastic Realism imagery as well as the technique and practice of old Tibetan painting and that of Renaissance Europe. His imagery comes from his imagination within and doesn't rely on specific models whether visual, literal or otherwise cultural; but also does not avoid the appearance of recognizable figures (such as a specific god or goddess) should one of them appear.
- Creator:
- Creation Year:2018
- Dimensions:Height: 23 in (58.42 cm)Width: 17 in (43.18 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:
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