Seeking the Zen Mind

There have been twenty-five centuries of Buddhist art. Carvings, sculptures, paintings and buildings dedicated to the life of the Buddha exist worldwide. Spindler sought to demonstrate that the 21st century can inform and update what has already been depicted. She communicates the Buddhist principles in today’s media and forms hoping to create relevance in today’s terms.

Impermanence is the first Noble truth of the Buddha, which speaks to the fact that nothing lasts forever: not sadness or happiness, pain or pleasure.  Impermanence I and II address that most artists create art  to be seen, to last.  In these pieces,  the canvasses are marked by smoke, the ultimate in transitory impermanence. The smoke is captured on raw linen, making it permanent onto the canvas, creating an existential tension between the teaching of the tenet, and the reality of the piece. The implications of the shapes refers to the mind and body connection: is the mind and body one or two?