CURRENT WORK

CARL GRAUER PORTRAIT & FINE ART

Natural Thresholds

Three deaths, all within two years, (my mother, best friend, and childhood art teacher and mentor) became catalysts for exploring emotional thresholds, seeking symbolic encounters in nature, and connections beyond the physical realm in this new series of work, Natural Thresholds. Through personal rituals of renewal, transformation, belief, and observation, I commemorate the journey from sorrow to solace and the celebratory moments where grief transforms into hope.

The paintings in Natural Thresholds, framed by circular portals and painted in oil, elicit movement between liminal spaces—between shadow and light, and between the physical and the spiritual. By reframing the mythology of mortality and its transformation, I search to restore a connection by merging the tactile into the celestial. With paintings of objects as humble as a small feather found on a walk or views as vast as a star-scape, the connection between the natural and the spiritual worlds are simultaneously held together when they are diametrically opposed. Reflecting upon this universal longing for harmony, I am reminded of loved ones by all these fleeting moments of beauty.

Natural Thresholds explores the interplay between loss and discovery, reminding us that some losses can lead to a greater purpose. This series celebrates the emotional landscapes we navigate in search of meaning and connection—a path where compassion may be found as we move from one shadow to the next and into the light.