abrazos

I fell in love with Argentina during my first visit there in March/April of 2008. One of the effects of this love is a yearning to dance Tango. The process of learning this sensual, improvisational dance reveals layers of metaphor for life, relationships, intimacy. Dancing tango requires complete presence with, connection to, and trust in one’s partner. Practicing these skills not only increases fluidity toward more beautiful dancing, but ultimately toward a deeper understanding of self and one another.

Through an embrace (abrazo) we can feel our partners, feel our own emotions, feel our body, feel the music, feel the movement, and feel a connection all which we hope to respond to or express each time we come together and step out onto the dance floor.

I am exploring this experience in my close-up paintings of embraced couples, as if the viewer is dancing with them, feeling that special energy created between them. In another group of paintings, I show bird’s eye views of a Milonga, (a Tango dance party), exploring the emotion and movement expressed in a particular space.

In 2009 I've been making a series of monotypes, mostly in a small format (6x6 and 10x5 inches), and mostly in black and white. They focus on a single couple viewed from a more intimate distance overhead - an invitation to see and feel the nuances of the embrace in motion.