Detail, Front of Confessional 1937

Here's William Kieckhofel's painted study of a 'Detail, Front of Confessional.' I'm thinking about the subtle washes of color and texture on this form. There’s something really lovely about the way the wood grain is suggested. It’s as though the artist is feeling around for a deeper truth, trying to get at the heart of the thing. And those two little crescent shapes. Are they handles? Peep-holes? Some kind of symbolic markers? I bet Kieckhofel thought long and hard about what they mean, too. Maybe they’re about secrets, hidden away in the dark corners of the confessional. This piece speaks to the ongoing dialogue between artists, each of us building on the ideas and innovations of those who came before. And when we look at a painting like this, we’re invited to join the conversation, to bring our own experiences and perspectives to bear on the work.