Reliquary of Father Junipero Serra 1941

William Kieckhofel made this "Reliquary of Father Junipero Serra" with what looks like watercolor or gouache, and pencil on paper. The colors, mostly muted reds and greens, feel very handmade, like the kind of palette you'd mix yourself from found pigments. It has a gentle, process-oriented feel. The texture here is all in the drawing, in the way Kieckhofel uses tiny strokes to build up the form and details of the reliquary. Look at the base, you can see the careful layering of color, a delicate latticework of greens and reds dancing on the surface. This piece reminds me that art is never really finished, it's just a moment in an ongoing conversation. You can see the influence of illuminated manuscripts, but also something uniquely personal, like folk art, particularly in the naive perspective and careful ornamentation. It feels related to the works of Joseph Yoakum, sharing a similar sense of personal vision. Ultimately, this little reliquary invites us to see the world through Kieckhofel's eyes, a space where art embraces ambiguity.