Patricia Cronin

Of all the Greek gods, Aphrodite is probably the most familiar to us moderns. We’ve seen the goddess of love in western art from ancient times onward, and you can still catch glimpses of her in fashion magazines. But you’ve never seen her quite like this. Aphrodite Reimagined is a sculpture by the Brooklyn artist Patricia Cronin. She took a fragmentary torso of the goddess from the first century and reconstructed the missing parts with transluscent resin. The hybrid sculpture is now on display at the Tampa Museum of Art. A lot of Cronin’s work plays with the past, while reimagining women and sexuality. Her memorial to a marriage is done in the manner of a 19th century mortuary sculpture, but depicts the artist and her female partner in a loving embrace.

Debbie talks to Patricia Cronin about art and politics. “I’m really angry. I have a low-grade fever of rage.”

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