Karen Grosman: Nightjar

Working with images such as birds, insects, butterflies, and shells, Grosman's oil and metal leaf paintings incorporate new ideas and perspectives. Her collection, Decorated Impermanence; Contemporary Vanitas, uses a mix of symbols and meanings from different cultures to create narrative. In Grosman's paintings, the owl, nightjar, and moth are considered signs of death while the cardinal is a deceased loved one visiting. Her use of gold leaf depicts wealth and what will be left behind (memento mori) and her reference to insects often represents decay. Flowers represent life and the butterfly expresses the fragility of it.