Man-Handled is a three-dimensional wall-hung painting in which a muscular mannequin arm bridges two separate wood panels. Partially covered in plaster cloth wraps and transformed through polychromy, the arm carries expressive brushwork, varied skin tones, and thick impasto as it grasps a baby bottle. Painted milk spills from the bottle, continuing across the jeans and down the canvas, linking the physical object to the painted surface. Only from the side is a displaced wooden alphabet block revealed behind the canvas, suggesting the scattered toys and everyday disorder of raising children. The work brings strength and tenderness into the same gesture, reflecting on fatherhood, caregiving, and the shifts in identity and attention that accompany nurturing.
2024, Mixed media on canvas and wood panel
41 x 12 x 7.5 inches
