The lace that peers
out of pockets and lines a neck
like blind worms
in search of soft earth
was free, but Goya charged
extra for hands.
Allowed into a painting, they have the tendency to take over.
Oskar Kokoschka let them.
Bruce Nauman assigns them lowly roles (false friend or pugilist).
Hannah Wilke, right hand drawn by the left, tracked cancer.
Debra Baxter provided one of hers with a fallback position. She may not be able to take you down, but the brass emblem of intimacy sheltering her middle finger will.
Eduardo Calderon – Caliban in love with unattainable beauty.
Fred Muram – portrait of the artist as an incompetent. (Besides offending left, note limp right in rear.)
Hugo Ludena – male bonding.
Holly Lynton – riding Mother Earth.
Tim Roda – like father, like son.
We have a pretty incredible hand in our Old Masters exhibition right now – de Ribera’s Saint Jerome’s hand creating the bottom jaw of the skull: http://oldmasters.pulitzerarts.org/explore/lower-main-gallery/