073COLLECTOR'S FOCUS: FIGURATIVE ARTand all living things in his arms as he is
supported by Seraphim who, in the Book of
Isaiah, surround the throne of the creator
singing Holy, Holy, Holy.
Bensly explains, “Seraphim addresses
the precariousness of life on this planet,
our current tenuous hold and fragility. It
is also a prayer: that in our darkest hour,
mountains will move and unforeseen forces
will aid us in our plight to right our wrongs.
Incredible inventions were once impossible
ideas: flight, breathing underwater, commu-
nicating with someone on the other side
of the world in real time—certainly things
that were greater than the individual and
somehow divinely inspired, and (at their
core) altruistic. These thoughts have all
culminated in a piece that I hope expressesa real acknowledgement of where we are
and the real need and possibility for hope.”
In Michael Bergt’s Fire and Rain the
ordered patterns of nature surround the
figure. Bergt says, “Fire and Rain confronts
two extremes: fire and water on a grid
pattern where both overlap. The red spots
grow and deepen in color like pools of
water gathering, only to become more red5 67 8