An Art Museum Presents: A Retrospective of Work Made by Your Aunt Who’s into Mysticism

Throughout her long and illustrious career, the canvases created by your aunt who’s into mysticism have scandalized viewers with the vibrancy and radiance of their colors, the broad brushstrokes that seem to engage with the changing world, and the reveal that oh this is what she spends all of her time doing. Created over a career spanning the past four decades, but really only the past four years after she came back from that trip to Sedona, these seminal pieces reflect the ever-interesting worldview and deep commitment (not to family gatherings) of your aunt who’s into mysticism.

Filled with obscured figures, grim portents, and traces of the pre-canvas wines that define her body of work, our retrospective seeks to shed light on what became a calling, but really should have remained a hobby.

BLUE DREAM

Your aunt who’s into mysticism’s early works were characterized by their communion with the natural world, and “Blue Dream” shows a sky filled with ambiguous tones and shades, perhaps intimating a sense of foreboding and doom to come. Assorted minute figures seem to gaze upwards, and as they have no faces since those were “difficult to get right,” their inscrutable expressions challenge and engage the viewer.

VOID 1

This piece has hung in your parents’ living room for as long as you have been alive, and was gifted to them in place of a traditional wedding gift. Your aunt who’s into mysticism said it was about the dawn. Of what? We can’t really be sure, but there sure are some yellow blotches in the top-left corner. Maybe the bottom left as well? Although it wouldn’t make sense to put a sun there.

In either case, we generously thank your parents for donating the painting to our collection, and invite them to pass on a forwarding address so that we may return it.

BLISS

Made during the period in which she had two dogs and tried to get them to run across the canvas with their paws, “Bliss” summons up the void and chaos so key to your aunt who’s into mysticism’s later canvases. Upon visiting the artist’s studio during this time, critics and friends alike were said to have been shocked at her artistic direction, as well as the fact that the dogs were being fed a diet of cut-up steak since they didn’t like the store-brand dog food.

AGE OF REASON

This work is considered by many art historians to be crucial to understanding your aunt who’s into mysticism’s oeuvre. It stems from the six-month period when your aunt was dating a community college professor who was very into Thomas Paine, and during this tumultuous period, your aunt intimated that she and her lover had “melded their bodies” into the canvas, a daring artistic choice that you’ve tried desperately not to think about until this very moment.

VOID 2

Hanging in your parents’ bedroom only when your aunt pays them a visit, this piece features blotches of yellow and orange that seem to explode outwards from the left side of the canvas, enriching the piece with their frail light. It is unclear how this is different from “Void 1.”