Proud.  (2015)  48" x 48"  Fuse. Acrylic. Wood Panel.

Stunning abstract color grooves, light and burned textures. Acrylic orange, tans, grays and milky white split by super-slow burning 3mm fuse.  Seriously, the fuse was so slow I thought it would never finish!  But it did create deep, resounding marks.

I named it Proud, as it reminded me of a song that has the words, "proud and immortal".  I am not sure this piece is immortal.  But I am proud of it.

Black metal frame.

Primitive.  Modern.  Explosive.  

American gunpowder artist, Vega carefully places powder and fuses on the surface of the art, which he positions horizontally on the floor (or blast table). When ignited, first the fuses burns instantly along the cord lines, igniting the gunpowder and creating a blast, which then vanish in clouds of smoke. The result is a textured surface that looks and feels like an explosion—the art is blackened, charred, and erupted, arrested in a state of being created in a flash.

When the fuse is lit there is a moment of uncertainty. What will happen? It is at that moment that true art exists.