Thursday, December 17, 2015

Art Consultant's Spotlight: "Everlasting Joy" by Sidney Sinclair


 “Everlasting Joy” by Sidney Sinclair is a recent acquisition by the J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art. This painting is part of Sinclair’s Abstract Cross Series.  All the usual elements of her crosses are represented in this painting: warm lighting, a thematic sense of mystery and heavy use of impasto technique.

What distinguishes this cross, to me, is the contemplation of the representation of The Holy Trinity. Sinclair’s “Everlasting Joy” is celestial; there is a sense that the cross came from somewhere besides an artist’s studio.  Overall, the aesthetic of the piece is one of antiquity, as if the cross was forged by an early Apostle and later placed in the Hagia Sophia until it was smuggled to a Byzantine church in Budapest after the fall of Constantinople. When I reflect upon the Holy Trinity I first think of God and His origin, coming out of the void and creating the world.

 I remember the Old Testament, a time when Western Civilization was in its infancy and the religions we have today were forming. In Exodus 3:13-14 God reveals Himself to His people: “And Moses said unto God, Behold, [when] I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What [is] his name? What shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”  The mysteries of God shown through the canvas’ rudimentary abstract lines and rectangular shapes, in contexts of its parts, are not initially discerned as a cross. Rather it is when the eye calculates all the lines and the shapes together that the powerful icon is revealed and the second component of the Holy Trinity is introduced.

The physical attributes of the painting correspond to the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. Sinclair’s cross is painted in earthy tones of red, brown, gold and yellow. The reds primarily used in the painting look like dried blood, homage to the blood that Christ shed when he was crucified.  The golds and yellows are sallow soft and warm, like tones of flesh, that of the dying Savior.  The Trinity is realized by the final component, the Holy Spirit.  The three unify to become an important idea in Christian belief. "It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds," As explained by the Lateran Council IV (1215).  In this painting first felt is the mystery of who is God. Next the physical representation of the flesh, Jesus Christ, is shown on the canvas through the physical materials of the painting, and finally, the presence of the Holy Spirit resonates from and beyond the piece. The Holy Spirit is represented by the shape of the cross which is organic like the colors. The heavy impasto layers also create movement. The paint vibrates on the canvas and burst forth in waves like the energy of the soul. It is as if the Holy Spirit comes through the paint directly to the viewer.  The idea that all three of these come together as one is symbolized by Sinclair’s cross.

Before crosses, Sinclair painted many landscapes. For me, “Everlasting Joy” is a type of landscape. It is a soulscape, a painting that mainly depicts the inner side of the artist. It is a record of her joys and sorrows and the days that she bore her soul to the canvas.  One can feel the energy of Sinclair’s bold, repetitive strokes as everlasting as the icon she paints. “I bring my spirituality to these pieces, but the people who like them and buy them bring theirs,” Sinclair says to San Antonio Women’s Magazine in a 2013 interview.  She continues to say she wants people to see the hand of God in her painting. Sinclair is also a cancer survivor and one does not have to look very hard at her painting to feel her faith and spirituality coming through.  As it is stated in 1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

©Gina Martinez, Art Consultant, J.R. Mooney Galleries, Boerne, TX
Please Contact J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art for Availability and Pricing
1 800 537 9609 Toll Free

210 828 8214 San Antonio, TX Location
830 816 5706 Boerne, TX Location

www.jrmooneygalleries.com

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