carved walnut, 24k gold leaf, resin
29.75” x 29.75” x 3”
2023

To appreciate this artwork, of course, you need to see it in real life, but let me try to describe it here. This is a 30” x 30” x 3” piece of walnut, the shadow shapes of the figure are carved back half an inch and the whole face plane is set back a tenth of an inch. The gold has a brilliant mirror-like quality that gives this traditional idea of a relief a modern take.

The viewer is absolutely reflected back referencing Jeff Koons' work. Combining the ideas from his Christ and the Lamb and his Celebration series.

This like all my work is grounded in a portrait tradition and about searching for connections to other people through portraits. "and She Laughed Like She'd Never Been Scared" is about that moment of relief that hopefully we've all felt and maybe are all due for. So...this one specifically you can literally and metaphorically see yourself in Nadja's face.