Today, I want to talk about your heart. When was the last time a piece of art stopped you in your tracks, silencing the mental to-do list that usually runs like a ticker tape behind your eyes?
The next time you look at art, I’d like you to look only for yourself. Don't worry about the artist’s reputation. If it doesn’t engage you, fergedaboudit. Find the work that makes your pulse quicken. We are all looking for authenticity—work that has a sacredness to it, offering a way out of a social dynamic dominated by consumerism.
I felt this recently standing before the paintings of Demetra Kalams, the featured artist this month at the Emerald Art Center.
Her abstract landscapes aren't just "pretty"; they possess what the Greeks called kalon—a beauty tied to goodness. In her work, no part could be removed without destroying the harmony of the whole.
As I look at her soft, atmospheric horizons, I am silenced. Whether it’s the way she captures light filtering through a heavy sky or the quiet depth of a distant treeline, her work expresses a "visual prayer." I personally think that if we are unmoved by a painting, it’s because the artist was unmoved.
But Kalams is clearly moved. Her authenticity results from a depth of attention that resonates with our own inner life.
In the face of such beauty, we experience transcendence. We are fully in the moment. I invite you to visit the KLCC website to view images of Demetra Kalams’ work and see if they stir that inner resonance in you. Then, go see them in person; give yourself the gift of being silenced by something beautiful.
