EFA STUDIO PROGRAM: Member Artists
Greg Kwiatek
“The Painter Meets Punu Mask” is a large painting (70 x 240”) which combines themes that I’ve worked with for years. The Painter became an image in my work in 1998. The springboard was the paintings that Francis Bacon made of Vincent van Gogh in the 1950’s, and a photography by Ker-Xavior Roussel of Paul Cezanne taken in 1906. I’ve made paintings of the moon both from life and subjectively since 2002. The Punu Mask came into the fold in 2010. It is in the guest room of a friend’s house in Cologne, Germany where I’ve stayed for years while visiting the city. My friend died in 2024. The mask is from Gabon. It is the symbol of ancestry, scarification, female beauty, wisdom, and it is brought out when an important member of the village passes away. “The Painter Meets Punu Mask” is a tribute to my friend. Also in the painting is a turtle shell. That shell is from a turtle that I saw at the Potato Farm Residency in July 2024.
