Iteration 50: Reflection Pool
33"x48"
acrylic on panel
from the collection of Mark King
This piece represents the true sacred nature of the rhino population in Africa that is now critically endangered due to poaching. Some, such as the black rhino, are extinct.
I hope the viewer gets a sense of the personality these magnificent creatures possess. One can look into his eyes and feel the energy, like you are him, looking at your own reflection. In a sense, when you look at this piece, you are seeing a part of yourself. There is a hidden mouse at his hoof as well. It was a symbol of the unlikely lover. The mouse seeks shelter from other predators by hiding at the rhino’s feet and in return keeps company as the horned beast’s population dwindles to zero. The rhino has nothing tangible to gain from the mouse, yet keeps him around.
You can measure the character of one by how they treat another who they can gain nothing from. You can learn even more about the character of how one treats those he can gain from.
This piece was accepted into The Big Show at Lawndale Art Center making it my 2nd year in a row to be selected. Every year a new guest juror selects what they think will make the best show for one of Houston's most attended annual art shows. This work was selected by George Scheer, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Elsewhere, Greensboro, NC.
It was inspired and commissioned by Mark King, one of my best collectors and good friend. He shared the pleasure of seeing its completion revered by hundreds of spectators. The curator and press gave it front and center, including special mentions and main image of the program. Houston Press declared it "Art that is beautiful and which continues to offer up something new to discover Vincent Fink’s Iteration 50: Reflection Pool, with hidden symbolism in the blood-red water and rolling sunset sky surrounding the scarred rhinoceros." and was the one piece printed in their newspaper. It became the icon of the 2015 Big Show as well as a symbol of the rhinoceros extinction in Africa.
