James Surls, The Splendora Years

Oak 25 x 23.5 x 19 in 63.5 x 59.7 x 48.3 cm Collection Susan and Alvin Chereskin, New York

"The rough hewn house becomes a supine figure stretching its arms up towards the curving phallic form that looms over it. Surls notes that the title refers to the duality of heaven and earth, which in many cultures is perceived as a gendered relationship. We speak of mother earth and many creation myths see the creation of life as the result of the physical union of sky and land. Here, the sexual aspect of these myths becomes explicit as the two realms literally reach out for each other."

-Eleanor Heartney, from Splendora: A Love Story in the publication "James Surls: The Splendora Years, 1977-1997."


	Heaven and Earth 1979 Oak 25 x 23.5 x 19 in 63.5 x 59.7 x 48.3 cm Collection Susan and Alvin Chereskin, New York "The rough hewn house becomes a supine figure stretching its arms up towards the curving phallic form that looms over it. Surls notes that the title refers to the duality of heaven and earth, which in many cultures is perceived as a gendered relationship. We speak of mother earth and many creation myths see the creation of life as the result of the physical union of sky and land. Here, the sexual aspect of these myths becomes explicit as the two realms literally reach out for each other." -Eleanor Heartney, from Splendora: A Love Story in the publication "James Surls: The Splendora Years, 1977-1997."