Eros Lost in the Wilderness

Eros Lost in the Wilderness

lacquer on resin

20" x 21" x 2" 

(private collection)

This is one of the wall pieces I did in the late 1980s, and, when shown in Washington, DC Touchstone Gallery exhibition Sculpture for Walls, it received one of my best reviews.

“The strongest work was that of James Symons. His lacquer on resin reliefs, such as Eros Lost in the Wilderness, effectively combine classical and Neo-Expressionist references with a conceptual underpinning. A classical putto—referring to Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise—flies through puffy baroque clouds across the top; expressionist chaos changes the lower half of the painting. In the center is an image of a city flying apart; a row of spikes marches across the bottom. Potent both formally and conceptually, the piece works well in the small format.”

Susan Platt, New Art Examiner