VANTA - Tribunal - IX

VANTA
Tribunal
Charcoal, ink and pastel on canvas, varnished.

The figures first appeared to me in a dream. I've been sketching and painting them since — not to explain them, but to see them more clearly.

They are tall, faceless, and dressed alike — a whole order of beings. Some carry scales. Some hold bowls, spears, a horn, a star-topped chalice. They kneel, stand guard, weigh things I can't see. Alone, they feel like sentinels. In groups, they feel like a council, a procession, a court.

I don't fully know what they're doing or what the objects mean. That's part of why I keep returning to them. The work sits somewhere between ritual and judgment, between something ancient and something I've never seen before. The style is angular and pared down — bodies reduced to planes, faces left blank — so the figures read as roles rather than people.

These works are made with charcoal, ink and soft pastel,, and sealed under heavy varnish so the surface holds.
Individual works are numbered — The Tribunal, I, II, III… — in order in which they are finished.
— VANTA

Shipping:
Shipped unframed, rolled in a protective tube. This keeps shipping costs down and avoids damage in transit. The work can be restretched easily by a framer or at home. Measurements listed are those of the finished piece stretched on a standard frame — the actual canvas is slightly larger (2–4 cm on each side) to allow for mounting.

Please note Due to the nature of charcoal and pastel, there may be minor smudging on the edges, corners or back of the canvas. The front has been sealed with multiple layers of fixative and varnish and is safe to touch.
Process photos and sketchbook pages included in the listing show early studies from this series — they are not images of the finished piece.