Man in Gold

I love this painting. It is called Man With A Plaid Blanket  by Thomas Ganter and depicts Karel, a windscreen cleaner from the streets of Frankfurt. I saw it at the National Portrait Gallery in London where it was on the shortlist for the BP Portrait award in 2014. The image of a homeless man depicted against a regal, gold backdrop reminded me of Lydia Davis’ short story in Extracts From A Life:

I have learned what art really is

Art is not in some far off place.

Indeed. Art is all around us, in us and through us. Art is us.