Lost and Found

Nothing lasts. Sooner or later, everything ends up in the Valley of Lost Things (Frank Baum). Against the certainty of loss, we attempt to shape and make meaning of our lives. In a way, loss serves as a “kind of external conscience, urging us to make better use of our finite days” (Kathryn Schulz). Faced with dying, we become acutely aware of living. It is darkness that beckons us to seek the light, turbulence that helps us appreciate serenity, and transience that reminds us to cherish. 

In my new series, Lost and Found, inspired by Kathryn Schulz’s new book, I attempt to capture this inherent tension of our human condition. Water and waves are a prominent feature in most of the paintings in Lost and Found. Alluding not only to water’s constant movement and change, the work attempts to capture both the erosion that takes place within us in time and the erosion that we witness in our lifetime. All the while offering an invitation to the viewer to cherish the beauty of each fleeting moment. 

“Our crossing is a brief one, best spent bearing witness to all that we see: honoring what we find noble, tending what we know needs our care, recognizing that we are inseparably connected to all of it, including what is not yet upon us, including what is already gone. We are here to keep watch, not to keep.” (Kathryn Schulz)