"I am treading more and more into leaves and silence.
Ironically, I, who profess no religion,
find the whole of my life a religious pilgrimage.
The origins of this hunger are as mysterious as why we, who are last year's dust and rain, have risen from that dust to to look about
with the devised crystal of a raindrop
before we subside once more
into snow and whirling vapor."
All the Strange Hours–The Excavation of a Life
by Loren Eiseley
The above is a quote from Joseph Raffael's website. Yesterday I took a whirlwind trip to NYC to see an exhibition of recent works by Raffael at the Nancy Hoffman Gallery which, after 35 years in Soho, has relocated in Chelsea.
I've loved Raffael's work since I first saw it in 1974 in New Mexico, when I was an undergrad at the University of New Mexico. He came to UNM to speak, and afterwards we were able to meet with him. Not only was his work radiant, but he was as well.
A calmness and almost zen peacefulness radiated from his presence.
It was exhilarating to walk into a space that pulsed with the energy of his art!
It just made me want to get to work.
So I guess I wil!!
[…] blogged about Joseph Raffael before, but this artist does NOT disappoint. Earlier this spring I went to NYC again to see his work […]