Cross on the Shed 2005

Stefan Caltia’s ‘Cross on the Shed’ feels like a dream, painted with a tender hand and a folk sensibility. The whole scene is bathed in this hushed light, a gray sky hanging over a simple blue shed, and the cross, like a ghostly echo, right there on the side. It's the texture that grabs me; the way the paint sits on the surface feels almost powdery, especially in the trees bursting with white blossoms. Looking at the trees, you can see how the hand moves. The blue of the shed is so simple, almost childlike in its flatness, which contrasts with the meticulous dabs of white that make up the foliage. It’s as if Caltia is reminding us of the quiet dignity in the everyday. It makes me think of Agnes Martin and her soft, subtle grids, a similar sense of stillness and contemplation. Art is a conversation and here Caltia quietly reminds us of the sacred in the ordinary.