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Stephen Proski
†††, 2021
Oil, acrylic, and sewing on canvas
40 x 50 inches

Ruane Center for the Humanities, Lower Level

About the Work

Stephen Proski focuses on the under-representation of disabled individuals in visual culture. Partially blind and colorblind since birth, his works employ graphic color palettes and forms to create patterns and symbols that are at once age-old and contemporary. He writes “I find myself moving more towards the representational, but I don’t want to completely abandon abstraction. I want to forge a path between the two by creating compelling narratives that reflect the uncertainty that surrounds us: through objects, people… relationships, and emotions.” Proski’s Crosses features the principal symbol of Christianity, recalling the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the sacrifice of his body, and the redeeming benefits of his passion, death, and story. With a densely repeating pattern of crosses, the artwork represents a field of figures and, in the artist’s eyes, the unique concept that our bodies, perfect in their imperfections, carry and deliver our stories into the world.