Claude Flambé (Water Lilies Salvaged from the MoMA) | Acrylic, encaustic, and ink on wood | 30” x 40”

Imagining the MoMA engulfed in flames, this piece reinterprets Monet’s Water Lilies as a fragmented landscape of survival. Deep blacks and purples, punctuated by fiery yellows and reds, depict resilient blooms floating on a molten surface, their delicate forms altered yet preserved. Handwritten poetic fragments like “life on pause,” “brain waves dead,” and “chances not taken, future forsaken?” encircle the canvas, weaving introspection into the chaos. The raw, layered texture captures the urgency of salvation, transforming Claude Flambé into a bold dialogue between destruction and the enduring power of art.