The Exchange

6”x8”

Oil on wood

2026

The Exchange

Like an uncanny version of a Little Golden Book, a double-headed figure emerges from a gold-flecked vertical stripe. A large wooden head stretches forward as a small face protrudes from her neck. These hover over a sparkling sea. A yellow tear-drop form intrudes or escapes upon a blue speckled background. The wooden woman in this painting is frozen in a moment of time. There is something, or someone, trapped in her throat. Her voice, her creation, is stifled but is intent on becoming manifest. As still as she is, she cannot escape the expression of the components in the world around her. The piece is named after the Alicia Ostriker poem of the same title.