Painting of a field of sunflowers during a thunderstorm

Details

Artist: KV
Title, year: "The Long Night", 2026
Medium: Acrylic on upcycled* canvas
Size: 8 canvases totaling 76 x 100 x 0.75 in.

About

Comprised of eight canvases, this piece is asymmetrical in size and fits together like a puzzle to make one cohesive image. I upcycle most of my canvases (in efforts to reduce waste and make both more environmentally-conscious and cost-effective art), so I am limited to what I can buy secondhand. This piece is my take on a temporary and more sustainable mural.

As for the meaning behind the piece:

• I feel like we're stuck in a never-ending night that is dark and terrifying. As a Millennial, my generation has experienced far too many once-in-a-generation events, so it feels like we've never felt the sun. This isn't the world we were promised; in fact, it's much, much worse. Hence, the thunderstorm.
• But sometimes, I see glimmers of hope, of change coming. Other times, I see things that make me think the world is only getting worse. Hence, the sky; is it a sunrise and good things are coming? Or is it a sunset and things are getting worse? We don't know. Is it so bad that I need to flee the country, take that path tucked amongst the stalks to sunnier places? Or do I stay rooted as the sunflowers do, to fight for what I believe is right?
• Using phytoremediation, sunflowers help remove toxins from the soil and water during post-nuclear disaster cleanups. And here, they represent how we're all going to need to pitch in to clean up this mess we're in. At night, as they rotate east to greet the sun, they tend to look at one another, something else I think we're all going to need to do to get through these tough times. So they are a call to action and a reminder that we're not alone.

Video series about how I made this piece

Location

This piece is my first entry into ArtPrize, an art competition and cultural festival held annually in my hometown of Grand Rapids, MI.

It is currently on display at Courage & Soar at 40 Monroe Center Street, Grand Rapids, MI. 

This item will be unavailable to ship until after the competition concludes on Oct. 3. 

Disclaimer

The artist paints over thrifted items. While the artist does her best to clean and repair each item before painting over the original design, she cannot guarantee the structural validity of this piece in the long term.