Tawny Chatmon b. 1979
                                Iconography/ A Hopeful Truth, 2023
                            
                                    Mixed Media
56 x 42 in.
142.2 x 106.7 cm
                                    142.2 x 106.7 cm
                                            © Tawny Chatmon
                                        
                                
                                 Two young girls embrace in front of a tiled backdrop with blue, floral filigree depicted in the style of Byzantine iconography, Description: As stated by the artist: Iconography is an evolving body of work influenced by Byzantine icons and religious iconography. While in Venice during the Biennale, I again stood charmed by the tilework, mosaics, and icons found across Italy. An icon is a work typically religious in nature. These visual declarations were used to assist the observer in focusing on all things sacred and were viewed more as literal prayers than art. Believed to serve as conduits to the divine, each was meticulously crafted by an iconographer on a journey of prayer and meditation. As they created, their hands were believed to have been guided by the spirit of the most high.While my "icons" deviate from the traditional context of worship, like icons of the past, they nevertheless call on the viewer to recognize their significance, preciousness, sacred nature, and value as they embody my prayers for them and the world. And, reminiscent of the tesserae used to make Byzantine mosaics, the gilded paper remnants of my past works cut into tiny tiles take on new energy as they're carefully arranged, constructing works transcending the earthly, connecting to the heavens.
                                
                        
                
 
                                         
                                         
                                        