Arin
Goldsmith
Arin
Goldsmith
Rebirth
Acrylic
on
Canvas
4'x3'
2020
Rebirth
I painted a corpse resynchronizing itself with nature as a way of
expressing the contrast of the ugly and beautiful. This ultimately con-
fronts my more recent bursts of existential dread that I have experienced
within quarantine. This painting was created using acrylic paint on an
upcycled theatrical flat made of wood and canvas and stands 3' x 4'.
This painting is part of a series of paintings featuring corpses decompos-
ing back to nature in a way that's somewhat beautiful. Painting is the
medium that I traditionally work in, and I felt it was the most dynamic
medium to express this piece through. The greatest influences on my
work are Impressionist painters. It physically depicts a corpse being
overtaken with fungus, roots, and flowers. This work is about me trying
to find beauty in the light of my own darkness and ultimately re-evaluate
what the purpose in me creating work is. During my quarantine, I have
found myself without desires or hope, because there is no certainty in
the future, only blank. It was my goal for the composition of this piece
to feel somewhat violent and disruptive, but still excruciatingly slow.
Traditionally, nature is serene and nonviolent and here it is seemingly
ripping this figure apart. This slow explosion is an expression of my own
external fears and worries about this blankness of the future. I have
found myself painting human remains in conjunction with plants fre-
quently in the past year, as I use death as a vessel to examine my past
and present actions. This is the first depiction of these remains being
active as opposed to still. The plants that I paint represent my thoughts,
my work, and the future. Creating seemingly pointless art for me is an
act of rebellion for the current state of ugliness in the world and a
reminder to keep living.
