Greetings from Austin, y'all. A Texas BBQ hangover has slowed my progress today, so I'm late in bringing you the word on today's fine art edition, Black on Blue by painter Giovanni Garcia-Fenech.

Giovanni's paintings are formal meditations on geometry and color, and I was initially drawn to them as a counterpoint to the more organic forms I'm naturally inclined to fall for. Last night, Raul and I were on a bus back from the aforementioned BBQ extravaganza, and he teased me about the challenge which lay a few short hours ahead: coming up with something interesting to write about mazes and minotaurs. (I will note that there are no minotaurs present in Giovanni's paintings, although it's not hard to imagine them there.)

Actually what is most interesting, and often distinctly uncomfortable, about Giovanni's paintings is that he's used the most controversial of symbols, the swastika, as the foundation for the broad range of patterns you find in his canvases. Although its origins are as a Sanskrit symbol of luck and goodness, its modern history and (mis)use have transformed it into a symbol that many believe to be unredeemable.

Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel personally about its prospects for redemption. Giovanni's exploration feeds an optimistic view that it can be, but you'll notice that my choice of paintings to print is a most abstracted form of the symbol itself, making me immediately doubt my optimism. The debate, internal and external, speaks to some of the most critical functions of art - to challenge assumptions, to prompt thought and debate, to offer an avenue by which to explore concepts and ideas and yes, sometimes, to make people feel uncomfortable.

This might sound crazy, but when I first looked at Giovanni's work, the persistence of the symbol wasn't immediately apparent to me. I was, as Raul kidded me about, thinking of mazes and minotaurs and I also found the bold colors and graphical qualities of the work appealing. In theory it's quite possible to stop right there, on the surface. If you're not me that is; for better or for worse, I've always been prone to dive in and wrangle with the challenges.

I'll be back tomorrow with some more challenging art. Until then, I bid you adieu from the deep end.