The Hope No.9 — Blocks of Tension is a mixed-media painting from the Thread series. The work was originally created as part of the artist’s earlier Hope cycle and later reimagined and transformed through the addition of wool thread stitching.
At the center of the composition several hands rise toward the sky. The main hand is turned upward, its palm open to the light, as if reaching for warmth, air, and possibility. The contour of this hand is carefully outlined with vivid magenta wool thread, introducing a tactile element that interrupts the smooth surface of the painted sky.
The most striking intervention is a large rectangular block made entirely of dense magenta stitches placed along the left side of the canvas. This textured field partially overlaps the painted hand, creating tension between the softness of the thread and the illusionistic realism of the painting beneath it. The gesture recalls the language of geometric abstraction, echoing the visual logic of color blocks associated with artists such as Piet Mondrian, yet here geometry does not replace the figurative image — it collides with it.
Additional stitched rectangles appear across the composition: a deep blue block entering from the right corner and a distant vertical element made of yellow threads. These colored structures function almost like emotional coordinates within the space of the painting. The yellow threads suggest rays of light or fragments of hope toward which the hands seem to reach.
In total five hands occupy the canvas, forming a quiet choreography of gestures directed toward the sky. The work builds a dialogue between realism and abstraction, painting and textile, softness and structure.
Through these contrasting elements the painting accumulates a sense of energy and internal pressure. The blocks appear to contain and frame that tension, while the hands insist on movement upward — toward light, openness, and hope.
Shipping & Handling
These paintings are stretched on a wooden stretcher and shipped carefully in a custom protective wooden crate. The listed price includes worldwide shipping. Each work is handled with the same meticulous care as in a gallery, ensuring it arrives safely and in perfect condition for collectors around the globe.
