Jaclyn Conley Canada, b. 1979
78 x 120 in
In “Spring,” three pole vaulters slip into the role of modern Graces, echoing the allegorical figures in Botticelli’s “Primavera.” A woman holding a pail, ready to scatter its contents, takes the central position as Venus. A faceless character enters the top right of the picture as Zephyrus and two bathers take the places of Chloris and Flora. Instead of presenting one fixed story, the horizontal format behaves like a stage where a cast of characters can move through overlapping narratives—quoting art history, athletic spectacle, and everyday gesture all at once. Each body is both a character and a painted fragment, a collage of poses, costumes, and references.