Bruce Gueswel's Fallujah @ Loveland Museum

Yesterday, I went up to have an outdoor lunch with some old and new friends west of Loveland in the Backbone Ridge area. But first I treated myself to a stop at the Loveland Art Museum, where I engaged in a conversation with Cultural Services Director Susan Ison. We had gravitated to my favorite sculpture there in the lobby, Bruce Gueswel's Fallujah. She explained they had an exhibit who's subject was Picasso. This was Loveland resident Grueswel's entry, which the museum purchased. And what a great piece it is, with metal human forms floating above several car and truck hoods and doors, which are integral to the piece. Sampling imagery from Picasso's famous painting from 1937, Guernica, his moving and powerful anti war statement in reaction to events during the Spanish Civil War. Some of the elements are visible here, with one notable addition of the burning oil rig in the upper left quadrant. Speaking to the the inflamed situation in the Middle East, in particular the Iraqi town of Fallujah. To me, it reflects the anguish of the residents there, and everyone observing around the world, the senseless violence fueled by our dependence on oil from that troubled region. All for the addiction to our gasoline powered cars. And in this large piece, about 6x9 feet, Gueswel has formed a poignant statement here. Not widely know, Ison told me, is that Gueswel, developed and built the industrial looking art and furnishings for all the Chipotle stores nationwide! To learn more visit : http://www.mayatekinc.com/gueswel/welcome.html   and  http://www.lovelandmuseumgallery.org

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