The Most Proximate Cause is a painting about Damocles, represented by a figure which leans heavily on a rope dangling beneath a deadly massive contraption, threatening to smash him with one wrong move.
 

The Most Proximate Cause

The Most Proximate Cause is a painting about Damocles, represented by a figure which leans heavily on a rope dangling beneath a deadly massive contraption, threatening to smash him with one wrong move. It was inspired by observations I made witnessing a man who seemed to have it all yet lived with a precarious secret burden that made him vulnerable to the petty whims of his abusive father. Coming from wealth and privilege, he was envied by his peers and received little understanding, yet he lived beneath a Sword of Damocles, which loomed over him and threatened to destroy him in the end.

  • Oil on canvas

  • 40”x60”

  • (2010)

This painting has been exhibited at Michael Berger Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA (2010); sold at Matt Namour Gallery in Montreal (2016), Quebec.