Piece of the Week: ‘Life’ by LFurtwaengler

In this week’s Piece of the Week, “Life” by LFurtwaengler, there’s a careful line drawn between the living the (soon to be?) dead.

At first I thought this colored pencil and pastel work was playful and dainty, but the longer I looked at it, the more I saw a tight rope balance between light and dark. I see the crow as symbolizing death, as it has in art for thousands of years. The symbolism of black crows in literature and painting is usually an ominous warning of our own mortality. “Life” asks us to question what we value, and why, and to acknowledge the thin line between being alive and being dead.

Once I’d registered the relationship between the here and gone, the subtle grey palette set the tone even further. This artwork did what great art does, it made me think, and think hard. The pencil and pastel mixes effortlessly, as does all of the work in LFurtwaengler’s portfolio.

It’s a remarkable feat, making an artwork that asks us to think without being overbearing or stifling. This piece would also look brilliant as a print on your wall, inconspicuously becoming part of everyday life while it addresses our relationship with living itself.

Sometimes artworks on Redbubble are moving and catch you off guard, and “Life” by LFurtwaengler does this beautifully with its quietly ambitious subject matter and flawless rendering.