Vox clamantis in deserto
‘Utilitarian cathedrals’
Mixed media on canvas by Vermont artist Dona Mara Friedman.
She says:
"Old, abandoned barns speak to me of a highly productive time in our American history. Built by hand, with wood cut from the surrounding area, they often contain individual architectural features that are prized by designers. I see them as cathedrals for utilitarian purposes – sitting in agricultural settings, they are American icons that keep my relationship with history alive.
A spiritual connection to the land began early in life, leading me to study herbalism. A desire to be closer to the earth, drove an eventual move to a rural setting over 20 years ago. My artistic vision perceives these familiar country objects and scenes around me as extraordinary, which relates to a childhood fantasy of life on a farm as preferable to growing up in suburbia. The open land, old barns, plowed fields, hay bales with mountains beyond become shapes, colors, textures, that are expressed with a contemporary sensibility. My use of mixed media, oil, acrylic, collage and wax allows for a complex textural surface with individual coloration that completes my perspective of rural settings.’’
This painting can be seen and purchased at Ellenbogen Gallery,in Manchester, Vt.
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