Some figures look back at you through everything they hold. Open Hand, Open Eye finds a figure painted in the manner of a Baroque marble, curled hair, eyes closed, head tilted back, one hand raised to the chin, in magenta and golden yellow against a black wall in St. Louis. The other hand is held out, palm up, and in it sits an open human eye. Behind the head, fine lines radiate outward like a star map, with small bright stars at each crossing.
The eye lands first on the tilted face and the curls above it, the most finished surface on the wall, then drops along the raised hand to the open palm, where the painted eye looks back at you. That small, strange detail is what the whole composition has been leading toward. The star lines pull the gaze outward, and the cyan, maroon, and cream lettering pieces at left and right sit like frames around the central figure.
The mural does the work of quoting classical sculpture, so the photograph stays out of its way: straight-on, centered, and unhurried, with Ernst Haas' respect for saturated color as the subject.
Open Hand, Open Eye suits lounges and cocktail bars, boutique hotels, galleries, creative studios, and lofts that want a surreal, luminous figure on a dark wall. The eye imagery and high-key color make it less suited to calming-focused environments such as healthcare or senior living.
To build a wall around this piece, consider these companion pieces:
For the painted face: Pair with Ember Profile, a painted face in profile on a black ground, glowing color against dark.
For the portrait on black: Pair with Where the Shadow Falls, a painted portrait on a black wall outlined in red light, the same dark ground and bright edge.
For the figure and the sculpture: Pair with Where She Paused, a woman pausing beside a marble bust under the Louvre's glass roof, the same pairing of a living viewer and a classical head.
Available as an open edition print, unsigned and unnumbered, in ChromaLuxe® Metal (gloss, semi-gloss, or matte), Glossy Anti-Glare Acrylic (TruLife), canvas, wood, and archival paper (framed or unframed). Glossy Anti-Glare Acrylic (TruLife) is the recommended presentation: the magenta and gold glow against the black wall reads as luminous depth, and the halo lines gain a soft dimensionality. ChromaLuxe® Metal (gloss) is the alternative for a crisper, more graphic hang, and framed archival paper suits a quieter setting.
Note: This is an open edition print, unsigned and unnumbered, available in the sizes and materials listed above.
Some figures look back at you through everything they hold. Open Hand, Open Eye finds a figure painted in the manner of a Baroque marble, curled hair, eyes closed, head tilted back, one hand raised to the chin, in magenta and golden yellow against a black wall in St. Louis. The other hand is held out, palm up, and in it sits an open human eye. Behind the head, fine lines radiate outward like a star map, with small bright stars at each crossing.
The eye lands first on the tilted face and the curls above it, the most finished surface on the wall, then drops along the raised hand to the open palm, where the painted eye looks back at you. That small, strange detail is what the whole composition has been leading toward. The star lines pull the gaze outward, and the cyan, maroon, and cream lettering pieces at left and right sit like frames around the central figure.
The mural does the work of quoting classical sculpture, so the photograph stays out of its way: straight-on, centered, and unhurried, with Ernst Haas' respect for saturated color as the subject.
Open Hand, Open Eye suits lounges and cocktail bars, boutique hotels, galleries, creative studios, and lofts that want a surreal, luminous figure on a dark wall. The eye imagery and high-key color make it less suited to calming-focused environments such as healthcare or senior living.
To build a wall around this piece, consider these companion pieces:
For the painted face: Pair with Ember Profile, a painted face in profile on a black ground, glowing color against dark.
For the portrait on black: Pair with Where the Shadow Falls, a painted portrait on a black wall outlined in red light, the same dark ground and bright edge.
For the figure and the sculpture: Pair with Where She Paused, a woman pausing beside a marble bust under the Louvre's glass roof, the same pairing of a living viewer and a classical head.
Available as an open edition print, unsigned and unnumbered, in ChromaLuxe® Metal (gloss, semi-gloss, or matte), Glossy Anti-Glare Acrylic (TruLife), canvas, wood, and archival paper (framed or unframed). Glossy Anti-Glare Acrylic (TruLife) is the recommended presentation: the magenta and gold glow against the black wall reads as luminous depth, and the halo lines gain a soft dimensionality. ChromaLuxe® Metal (gloss) is the alternative for a crisper, more graphic hang, and framed archival paper suits a quieter setting.
Note: This is an open edition print, unsigned and unnumbered, available in the sizes and materials listed above.
