I came up with the idea for this series during the constraining realities of cultural confinement caused by Covid and the restrictions demanded by the powers that be, No matter our age, color, sex, political or religious preferences, we have all had to endure this “enclosure” in one way or another. The realities of governed life indeed showed us the prison that can so easily be created by a sneeze. The choice of politicians and media to propagate the term “lockdown” was no coincidence.

Begun just as we inaugurated the first year of our new era of disease-culture, I created each one of these twelve paintings for each of the first twelve months of this new age. In respecting the power of art to be more than just decorative, I responded to that which displeased me. Each of these 12 paintings measures 50×50 cm and is painted on a boarded canvas. I chose a rigid medium because I didn’t want to give up painting on the texture of the canvas, but I needed something durable to withstand the abuse I would put this canvas through. I anticipated the feelings of helplessness, anger, and frustration I was depicting, so I knew I would be using tools and attitudes that are not normally used in my playful ways of painting. Yes, I am always playful and having fun, but in this case I was being aggressive and drastically abusive to my support, this canvas. I would never have been able to do what I did here if the canvas had been traditionally stretched – I had to reinforce it byu gluing it to a solid support in order for it to survive. Thankfully, using knives, sandpaper and scrapers added extra time to the life of my brushes.

Painted with oil paints and finished with non-yellowing cold artist’s wax, This series, my “Men in Boxes” series, promises to remind you of the struggles we faced that challenged us and remain as proof that we can, indeed, survive and learn from what stands before us as adversary.