The Story

The River Thinks So was begun in New York City for Spirits of Brooklyn, an exhibition presented in a beautiful Brooklyn church that explores the meeting point between the real and the imaginal, and the sacred presence hidden within everyday life.

I completed the painting in Florence, Italy, where it evolved through my encounter with Fra Angelico’s luminous frescoes at the Museum of San Marco. The painting reinterprets one of his sacred compositions through a contemporary female figure, who moves through a river surrounded by flowers and an otherworldly landscape. The white bird above her suggests a guiding spirit, while the water evokes cleansing, transformation, and the continual flow between the material and spiritual worlds.

The finished painting brings New York and Florence into conversation, blending the contemporary, imaginative spirit of Brooklyn with the luminous color, sacred atmosphere, and devotional beauty of Fra Angelico’s Florence.

Materials & Framing

This painting was created with archival oil paint on a museum-grade panel, using luminous mineral pigments derived from lapis lazuli, azurite, rhodonite, and traditional Italian earth pigments. These richly colored materials have a deep connection to art history. Lapis lazuli, azurite, and earth pigments were treasured by Italian Renaissance masters for their depth, brilliance, and enduring beauty.

I am also drawn to gemstones for their symbolic and metaphysical associations. Lapis lazuli has long been connected with intuition, inner wisdom, and spiritual insight. Azurite is traditionally associated with expanded awareness, transformation, and the opening of the mind to unseen realms. Rhodonite is believed to open and nurture the heart, encouraging compassion, emotional healing, and self-love. By incorporating these pigments into the painting, the materials become more than sources of color, they carry their own histories, energies, and layers of meaning.

The painting is presented in a hand-painted, carved wooden frame made in Italy and embellished with gold leaf. The frame was carefully selected to echo the ornate architectural details, decorative flourishes, and gilded surfaces I encountered throughout Florence. Rather than simply surrounding the painting, it becomes an extension of the artwork itself, completing the sense that the piece might be a small fragment lifted from an ancient Florentine palazzo.

The River Thinks So

oil on panel

7 x 5 inches

$1,500 USD

Worldwide shipping is available. Free shipping is included within the United States and Canada. For shipping rates to other countries, please email kristy@kristygordon.com.