Eternal Spring

$2,000

24x30 wood panel

Gel-transfer, ceramic stucco, modeling paste, acrylic, handmade paper, glass beads

2022

This painting is so special. It marks a transformational moment in my style where I took major risks that ended up birthing what has been my process ever since.

Eternal Spring was inspired by the Greek myth about Persephone and Demeter, which is the etiology of the seasons in mythology. Essentially, Persephone is gathering flowers in a meadow when she spies the most beautiful one of them all. When she picks it, the earth opens up and Hades appears on a chariot and abducts her, dragging her to the depths of the underworld. Persephone’s mother, Demeter, hears her cry and goes to the ends of the earth to find her. When she can’t, she wipes out the land and initiates a brutal winter. Hades makes her queen of the underworld and as a result, Demeter causes winter to prevail while she is gone. But when Persephone is released to come back to the surface and they are reunited, new life rises and spring returns.

I love this story because it displays the cycle of life and death which is a core theme in my work. In this painting I draw a parallel to Christ—he died a spiritual death (winter), but he resurrected and became the eternal spring. The cross being a symbol that spring will return.

For purchase inquiries, please email artist@allisonturcios.com