THE THIN LINE
Between falling apart and finding the strength to rise, there is sometimes only a thread.
2024
Oil and gold leaf on Belgian linen
220 × 240 cm
€19,000
ORIGINAL WORK · AVAILABLE
THE LINE
How close can resilience and collapse really be?
The Thin Line explores the fragile boundary between adversity and the ability to overcome it — the moment when the same experience can either break us or become part of our transformation.
THE STORY BEHIND THE WORK
Resilience has become a familiar word in contemporary culture. At its core, it describes the ability to adapt and recover when confronted with adversity.
In this work, resilience is represented by a golden thread inspired by Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with lacquer mixed with precious metals. Rather than concealing the fractures, Kintsugi incorporates them into the history of the object, transforming the damage into part of its beauty.
The golden thread crosses the composition and becomes a kind of necklace, ending in a jewel shaped like a Phoenix. The mythical bird reinforces the idea of renewal: the possibility of emerging from adversity transformed rather than simply returning to what existed before.
But the same thread also defines the other side of the equation.
It becomes a line separating two very different states of being. On one side, the possibility of recovery; on the other, depression and the profound difficulty of finding the strength to move.
This second state is represented by the figure wrapped in bedsheets, evoking one of the experiences associated with depression: the inability to find the energy to leave the bed.
The work therefore does not present resilience as an absolute state. It explores the uncertainty of the boundary itself — the possibility that the distance between falling and recovering can sometimes be remarkably small.
SYMBOLS & REFERENCES
THE GOLDEN THREAD
The thread represents the fragile boundary between two states of being: resilience and collapse.
KINTSUGI
The golden thread references Kintsugi, the Japanese practice of repairing broken ceramics with precious metals, where fractures become part of the object's history rather than something to be concealed.
THE PHOENIX
The Phoenix represents renewal and transformation — the possibility of emerging from adversity as something changed rather than simply restored.
THE SHEETS
The figure wrapped in bedsheets evokes the physical and emotional weight of depression and the difficulty of finding the strength to get out of bed.
THE LINE
The line is both literal and metaphorical: it separates two radically different states while suggesting how little may stand between them.
DETAILS
Details from The Thin Line, revealing the contrast between the painted surface and the golden elements of the composition.
THE WORK IN SPACE
220 × 240 cm
A large-format original whose physical scale reinforces the tension between fragility and monumentality at the heart of the work.
ACQUISITION
The Thin Line
2024
Oil and gold leaf on Belgian linen
220 × 240 cm
€19,000
Original artwork · Unique piece
Certificate of Authenticity included.
Signed and dated by the artist.
International shipping available upon request.
FROM DIES IRAE
Explore the other works in the collection.
