Four Suites, by Seán Gaffney

Seán is a Senior Associate of GCB, and apart from his many writings on the subject of Gestalt, its theory, methodology and practice across various fields of experience, personal or professional, he has also published four books of poetry: Las Meninas, a series of poems about Velasquez' famous paintings, Family Matters, about the process and dynamics of family interactions from his life experience in Dublin and beyond, Aspects of Ageing, about age, illness and mortality, and lately these 'Four Suites'.

'The Caucasus Suite' explores that mountain range, its shifting borders and boundaries - all seen through the photographs of a female Russian photographer half Gaffney's age with the mountains holding metaphors for the complex relationship between the two. The second suite, 'Caravaggio', addresses the spiritual resonances evoked by some of the religious themes he painteed. This is followed by 'The World We Live In', and its, and our challenges. Finally, the author considers his 'Art and Craft' in relation to his own writing. In his own words:

"These four mini suites share a common theme, implicit in the first three and made explicit in the fourth: the tension between art and craft. This tension is applied to my meeting through photographs with a distant mountain range and all it evokes in me, including my relationship to and with the photographer; my meetings with a Baroque Italian painter and his work; my being in the world and the world in which I find myself and, finally an exploration of how a piece of handicraft be it a painting, sculpture, piece of music,  the written word can be transformed into art when it enters a dialogue with the viewer, listener, or in this case you the reader.  I regard you as my collaborator in a joint artistic endeavour and suggest that you read my work with a pencil (and eraser) to hand and feel free enough to share your versions with me.

Seán Gaffney
Stockholm, December 2020"