{"product_id":"gordian-knot","title":"Gordian Knot","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArtist\u003c\/strong\u003e: Cristi López\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYear\u003c\/strong\u003e: 2023\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaterials\u003c\/strong\u003e: Colored pencil, acrylic, and ink on panel\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize\u003c\/strong\u003e: 40\"x60\" Diptych\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis work is Cristi's largest, most important work to date and is comprised of two cradled panels that are designed \u0026amp; intended to be hung together. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShipping\u003c\/strong\u003e: Free\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-----------------------------------------\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003edon’t swat the bees\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Two year ago, while I was still living in Chicago, I checked myself into\u003cbr\u003ea mental health clinic. For a month and a half, I was part of an intensive\u003cbr\u003eoutpatient program for OCD \u0026amp; Complex Anxiety Disorders. Exposure and\u003cbr\u003eresponse prevention therapy (ERP) was a substantial part of my treatment.\u003cbr\u003eThe Exposure in ERP refers to exposing yourself to the thoughts, images,\u003cbr\u003eobjects, and situaitons that make you anxious and\/or start your obsessions.\u003cbr\u003eWhile the Response Prevention, refers to making a choice not to do a\u003cbr\u003ecompulsive behavior once the anxiety or obsesions have been triggered. In\u003cbr\u003etreatment, we had at least one hour of the day dedicated to independent\u003cbr\u003eERP. We were asked to actively find ways to trigger our obsessive thoughts\u003cbr\u003eand keep ourselves from mitigating the resulitng anxeity with compulsions.\u003cbr\u003eI would often spend my solo hour outside so that I could take my mask\u003cbr\u003eoff and enjoy the last bits of Chicago summer. Summers in Chicago are\u003cbr\u003eheaven. 2020 was no exception, even with Covid. We may not have had street\u003cbr\u003efestivals, concerts, dance parties, etc., but we still had bike rides,\u003cbr\u003epicnics, the lake, and so much more. It was still a Chicago summer. But\u003cbr\u003ewith these precious summers come bees. Actually, wasps. But I’ll say bees\u003cbr\u003ebecause I like that better and the concept still holds.\u003cbr\u003eOne morning while I was sitting outside during “exposure hour”, bees were\u003cbr\u003ebuzzing all around me. I could have gone inside but I wanted sunshine. So\u003cbr\u003eI stayed put. The bees came closer and closer, and I felt myself gettng\u003cbr\u003enervous. My instinct was to sway them away, but I knew better. Swatting at\u003cbr\u003ethem would only agitate them. So I stayed still, breathed into the tension,\u003cbr\u003eand eventually the bees went on their way.\u003cbr\u003eThis process mirrored what I was trying to do in therapy. When a distrubing\u003cbr\u003ethought comes up, my instinct is to swat it away with compulsions. But that\u003cbr\u003eonly makes the thought come back stronger. So I sit with the thought, feel\u003cbr\u003ethe anxiety, and trust that it will run its course.” - Cristi López\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLópez, a first-generation American of Dominican, Spanish, and Cuban descent, creates intricate compositions of female figures that evoke a sense of duality, intimacy, and frenetic calm. Her treatment of the figure is multifaceted and dynamic, and the women in her work possess a sense of power, confidence, and emotional vulnerability.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cristi López","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44936662122790,"sku":"","price":5500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0679\/5542\/5574\/files\/CLbigpaintingsideshot.jpg?v=1682612831","url":"https:\/\/shop.vsgcontemporary.com\/products\/gordian-knot","provider":"VSG Contemporary","version":"1.0","type":"link"}