Sidney Pierce

Examples of Angels, 2020, 48×72, Water soluble oil on canvas

 

“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.”

—— Corinthians 12:9

 

I was raised as a Buddhist but always fascinated by churches as a child. The sunlight shining through the stained glass seemed magical to me. When I started making my own artwork, I found beauty in traditional religious paintings and iconography and wanted to reinterpret the composition into my own identity and experience.

 

During the worst part of the Covid-19 pandemic, taking care of two special needs men, myself, and two service dogs brought on a lot of anxiety, and my artwork is an emotional response to my experience. My painting combines traditional composition of Christian stained glass with contemporary images of my family members, because I see beauty in them despite their disabilities.