I was inspired by the powerful and thought-provoking 1990 piece “Untitled (Death by Gun)” by Felix Gonzalez-Torres that I viewed in the National Portrait Museum/American Art Museum. While creating this original 30x40" mixed media painting on canvas, I sought to represent the grief left in the wake of gun-related deaths—whether by crime, accident, or suicide.

The foundation of the work incorporates appropriated imagery from Time magazine, mirroring Gonzalez-Torres’ original concept. The background bears the haunting documentation of 460 individuals who lost their lives to gun violence in a single week in the United States, each photo entry listing their name, age, and manner of death. Like the original, this painting offers no political commentary, only space for reflection.
Emerging from this stark backdrop is an abstract rendering of two figures locked in a somber embrace. Shrouded in grief, they represent the raw, enduring pain of those left behind. As I layered these forms and read through each story, I was moved to use a rough, expressive technique to capture the intensity of loss. This piece is the most emotionally charged work I’ve created to date.

Muted tones of black, brown, gray, tan, and white carry the visual weight of mourning. Portions of the background imagery are obscured beneath textured brushwork, symbolizing how time may fade visibility but never truly silences memory. As we hold space for the victims and their loved ones, we acknowledge that the names remain. The sorrow lingers. The story endures.

About the victims from Time Magazine: The victims were frequently those most vulnerable in society: the poor, the young, the abandoned, the ill and the elderly. The most common single cause of death was suicide. For more information on this story, go to: https://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/16/a-history-of-violence-gun-control-in-the-pages-of-time/slide/july-1989-death-by-gun/