The Matrixial Sphere

Following the Pillow Book series, I turned inward, staging a metaphorical archaeological dig into the Self. Beginning with a self-portrait in a clown mask, symbolizing the tension between inner character and outward appearance – I established a process of oppositional making: realism gave way to abstraction, beauty to grotesque, construction to destruction. Each work evolved against its predecessor, unfolding across a mental sphere that echoed the hemispheres of the brain, masculine and feminine, representational and conceptual. 

Guided by Bracha Ettinger’s notion of the Matrixial Borderspace, I discovered a language for what I had encountered.  As I considered her notions, I realized I was making as an act of vulnerability, emergence and having a dialog with forces leading beyond my previous capabilities.  Ettinger used terms such as “fragilization” and “co-poiesis” to describe this state.  Those notions resonated deeply with me. In this work, I played with different ‘points of resolve’ – some works showing restraint, some carried beyond my sensibilities – stretching my artistic capacity, with the battling voice in my head, as I made very bad paintings and surprising ones.

The resulting eighteen works, formed inside a sphere was realized virtually, in Gagosian’s Rome oblong space, mapping a narrative arc akin to Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey – from beginning, to death, to rebirth. 

Though rooted in personal excavation, the Matrixial Sphere transcends autobiography. It is a mirror of our shared creative capacity, charting the endless potential of human becoming.