“To represent terrible and questionable things is, in itself, the sign of an instinct of power and magnificence in the artist; he doesn’t fear them. There is no such thing as pessimistic art. Art affirms”.
Friedrich Nietzsche
The war in Lebanon was raging in 1987 when I relocated to Rome for my second year of graduate studies at Temple Abroad. As a landscape artist, I painted Roman archeological sites on location. While searching for a new subject, I stumbled upon a “dolls’ hospital” (ospedale delle bambole), a place to restore old, broken dolls to their former splendor. The window display was crammed with dusty, cracked, eyeless doll heads that stared at me. Rather than seeing dismembered toys, I saw a fragmented, broken humanity. This encounter marked a pivotal moment in my artistic journey, triggering a transformation from landscapes to what I refer to as “humanscapes.” My art found its purpose as a voice echoing the human spirit and its longing for healing and peace, as I pondered, “Who will restore humanity to its noble dignity?”
Memory of Yesterday, Reality of Today, Vision of Tomorrow
84" x 72", Oil on canvas, 1989
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
72" x 84", Oil on canvas, 1989
Il est difficile de se regarder tel qu'on est
28" x 72", Oil on canvas, 1989. Private Collection. Boston, MA
Your Silence I Suffer
72"x48", Oil on canvas, 1989
Massacre of the Innocents
60" x 72", Oil on canvas, 1991
That Which We Contemplate We Are
56"x40", Oil on canvas, 1989
The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters
72"x48", Oil on canvas, 1989. Private Collection. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Abortion: Is This Life?
48" x 72", Oil on canvas, 1989
Victims Of Our Games
48"x72". Oil on canvas, 1989. Private Collection. Sire Records Co. Burbank, CA
In the Valley of Shadows
48"x72". Oil on canvas, 1989
Les Fleurs du Mal
48"x72". Oil on canvas, 1990. Private Collection. France
Pourquoi l'enfant morné ça sera la Victoire?
52"x64". Oil on canvas, 1989
Prince of Peace
60" diameter, Oil on panel, 2000
Tomb to Womb
32"x24", Oil on panel, 2003
Truth Slaughtered With Her Disposable People
48" x 36", Oil on panel, 2003
The Altar
48" x 24", Oil on panel, 2002
Venerable Vulnerability
32" x 24", Oil on panel, 2003
Aimer Sa Realité
48" x 48", Oil on panel, 1995. Private Collection. Netherland
And their thirst lead them
48" x 48", Oil on panel, 1995. Private Collection. Providence, RI
Entombment
36"x96". Oil on canvas, 1989
Deposition
51"x59". Oil on canvas, 1989. Private Collection. Boston, MA
No man knows whether love or hate awaits him
32"x39". Oil on canvas, 1987
Damned
33.5"x39.5". Oil on canvas, 1988
And fill the earth
30"x24". Oil on canvas, 1989
Civil War
60" x 72", Oil on canvas, 1993
Ton silence m'appelle
72" x 60", Oil on canvas, 1991
Accueillir ses blessures
96" x 48", Oil on panel, 1994
As I can
96" x 48", Oil on panel, 1994
Ever Present
48" x 36". Oil on canvas, 1993. Private Collection. France