Saving Grace
cause: INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
now benefiting: Food for the Hungry

This work's composition is reminiscent of Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus. Elements of the original Neo Platonic masterpiece transform into an original Neo Surrealist still life: Zephyrs become a pair of pears; Venus becomes a banana; Pomona becomes a grapefruit; fruit trees become silverware; the foamy sea becomes a deep green tablecloth; and the shoreline of Cyprus becomes a tabletop.

Although not intended as such, some suggest the supple organic quality of the fruit possesses sexual connotations. At one time, this work hung in a popular vegetarian restaurant in Manhattan with another title, Birth of Vegetarianism. During one Sunday brunch, a boisterous customer cried out "Hey, I wanna know who modeled for those pears?" Symbolically, the table represents the operation of grace for the realization of things terrestrial, the silver represents sacrifice and 'the affectations purified,' the scallop shell represents pilgrimage, and the fruit represents immortality.

During one exhibit, this painting superimposed a chalk-drawing backdrop depicting the surrounding table. This peripheral perspective also allows the viewer to see the fruit pouring from a tabletop cornucopia representing abundance. When viewers feast their eyes upon Saving Grace, they honor their own spiritual journey by saying grace before savoring grace.

Enjoy the lyrics of Despirit

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