Maria Szakats
                                SPIDER, BLACK, 2024
                            
                                    Mohair embroidered on cotton toile
21 x 16 cm
8 1/4 x 6 1/4 in.
8 1/4 x 6 1/4 in.
Unique
                                    
                                            Courtesy of the artist and Brooke Benington
                                        
                                
                                   SPIDER, BLACK is a small scale mohair work which reinterprets a 16th-century portrait of Gabrielle d’Estrées and her sister bathing, transposing it from the bright and glossy oil paint to...
                        
                    
                                                    SPIDER, BLACK is a small scale mohair work which reinterprets a 16th-century portrait of Gabrielle d’Estrées and her sister bathing, transposing it from the bright and glossy oil paint to the soft medium of mohair, imbuing the work with an otherworldly and ephemeral feeling. The addition of a spider beside the figure's breast introduces a symbol of decay or danger in the otherwise peaceful scene. The spider acts as a symbol of protection and gatekeeper. Through this delicate yet unsettling reimagining, Szakats explores the impermanence of beauty that lies within its allure.
                    
                    
                 
                                         
                                            