The Bows
IN THIS SERIES, SILVERSTEIN FOCUSES ON A SINGULAR, RECURRING MOTIF: THE BOW
ALI SILVERSTEIN STUDIO, LOS ANGELES, US
As a symbol, the bow simultaneously functions as a knot and an ornament, serving as both a mechanism for binding and a an expression of celebration.
Each painting in this series begins with Silverstein drawing a bow form — eyes almost closed, guided more by feeling than by strict representation. The unique iterations chronicle an emotional landscape through time. The works are then resolved through a technique of 'raking' paint, as in a Zen sand garden, complex color relationships, and repetitive surface rhythms. Flatness is transformed into a field for focused attention.
The Bows function as a spiritual practice, articulating the tension between constraint and spiritual unfurling, bind and release — free movement with a central anchor.