Sin and Redemption
JUNE 29, 2012
SFMOMA Artists Gallery
Sin and Redemption -- the painting that got it all started
Javier Manrique, Crown, 2008; photo courtesy the artist
Sin and Redemption
Exhibition dates: July 14 - August 23, 2012
Opening reception: Saturday, July 14, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
This exhibition of works by more than two dozen artists working in painting, sculpture, installation, and
photography explores the transformational themes of sin and redemption.
Here Maria Medua of the Artists Gallery talks to Javier Manrique about his paintings for the show.
MM: Javier, it was really your painting, “Crown” that got me thinking about doing this show about sin and redemption.
JM: The Crown is a symbol of truth and transgression. The artist as an outcast falls on the Christian
notion that the more one is rejected, the more one is a vehicle and receptacle of truth. He or she has
mystically the right to transgress language, moral, and political codes. Sin is relative for a transgressor and
rejection and suffering are a medium. In the sacrifice one is redeemed.
MM: And what about the piece “Buried Heart.” The rose is an ancient symbol in art, what is its
significance to you?
JM: Buried Heart is a metaphor for those sentiments that are latent desires, the heart within the earth will
sprout through the surface to become tangible. Martyrdom makes it easy to see a phrase from a poem Song
of the Nightingaleby Richard Le Gallienne that reads,
“I know not your kiss from your scorn, my love,
Your breast from your thorn, my rose,
And if you must kill me, well, kill me, my love!
But – say ‘t was the death I chose.”
Fulfillment is achieved in living and dying the way one desires, which may be interpreted as morally
wrong yet it is the only recourse for the romantic. A sin would be not following the heart.
MM: So it would be a sin not to see this show!
JUNE 29, 2012
SFMOMA Artists Gallery
Sin and Redemption -- the painting that got it all started
Javier Manrique, Crown, 2008; photo courtesy the artist
Sin and Redemption
Exhibition dates: July 14 - August 23, 2012
Opening reception: Saturday, July 14, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
This exhibition of works by more than two dozen artists working in painting, sculpture, installation, and
photography explores the transformational themes of sin and redemption.
Here Maria Medua of the Artists Gallery talks to Javier Manrique about his paintings for the show.
MM: Javier, it was really your painting, “Crown” that got me thinking about doing this show about sin and redemption.
JM: The Crown is a symbol of truth and transgression. The artist as an outcast falls on the Christian
notion that the more one is rejected, the more one is a vehicle and receptacle of truth. He or she has
mystically the right to transgress language, moral, and political codes. Sin is relative for a transgressor and
rejection and suffering are a medium. In the sacrifice one is redeemed.
MM: And what about the piece “Buried Heart.” The rose is an ancient symbol in art, what is its
significance to you?
JM: Buried Heart is a metaphor for those sentiments that are latent desires, the heart within the earth will
sprout through the surface to become tangible. Martyrdom makes it easy to see a phrase from a poem Song
of the Nightingaleby Richard Le Gallienne that reads,
“I know not your kiss from your scorn, my love,
Your breast from your thorn, my rose,
And if you must kill me, well, kill me, my love!
But – say ‘t was the death I chose.”
Fulfillment is achieved in living and dying the way one desires, which may be interpreted as morally
wrong yet it is the only recourse for the romantic. A sin would be not following the heart.
MM: So it would be a sin not to see this show!