Where the Heart Is

The symbolic nature of houses has been discussed in many circles-- from decorating, to dream analysis, to literature, to architectural theory, each room in a house takes on psychological meaning. The basement is our subconscious, the attic, our imagination. Authors develop dwellings to suggest the symbiotic relationship with homeowner and home often. Think of Poe's use of floor boards in the Tell Tale Heart, or Bronte's attic in Jane Eyre, or Fitzgerald's imitative French architecture in The Great Gatsby. Literature is rich with houses which serve not only as plot devices, but as part of the character's identity. Certainly the details of any house reflect the nuances of the inhabitant.

But what if an idea or an emotion had a house? How would its character, its identity be reflected? In exploring this question, I painted a series of houses whose inhabitants were emotions, ideas, concepts. Two of these houses, The House of Hysteria (top), and The House of Neurosis (lower), are going to be in a group show at Ripe Art Gallery in Greenlawn, NY starting this weekend until October 28th. Please consider yourself invited to the opening this weekend, from 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm.