Jonathan VanDyke

New painting from the series "Strike," made first by flagellating (“striking”) the canvas with paint-soaked whips. I further altered, and then cut and sewed the canvas in a pattern quoting from floor tiles at San Vitale in Ravenna, one of the basilica that inspired my show in Ravenna this past winter.

Each painting in this series has on its backside images of a global protest against authoritarianism (i.e., a "strike"). In this way the paintings hold a living archive of media that is at risk of censorship and erasure. This painting contains images from 2020 Belarus pro-democracy protests, including photos of the fearless (and frequently detained) septuagenarian icon Nina Bahisnkaya (seen in images 6 & 9)

Jonathan VanDyke
Strike (v3)
2026
130.5 cm x 96 cm
Ink and paints on raw canvas, cut and sewn in “San Vitale” pattern