Beach Stones

framed dimension: 25.25 x 27.25 in.

The BEACH STONE PAINTINGS in general; besides being an expression of visual aesthetics, are an attempt at trying to contain chaos and keep it restrained within some kind of aesthetic order thereby trying to make sense of the randomness.

This randomness in nature is also reflected in our populated world of human activity.  I’m trying to make sense of everything so I can feel that there is some control in my life. The beach stone paintings are simply an act of imposing order on apparent chaos. The multitude of stones along the beach, are they there randomly?  Are all those stones lying on the shoreline in a state of chaos?  Or is there some kind of natural order taking place, caused by natural forces? 

And are we as humans also here randomly, or here with some kind of purpose to our lives?  The stones have been acted upon by natural forces over time, by heat, by wind, water and contact with one another. Similarly, are we as human beings not shaped and sculpted by natural forces; physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual?  So, the beach stone paintings besides being an aesthetic image of our landscape, can be seen as a metaphor for ourselves, questioning whether we, or anything on this planet exists as an act of randomness or as part of a greater order or purpose in the scheme of things.

Herzl Kashetsky, 2023