The Naming: Juno

Nicole Rose Gelormino

Juno

2020

oil on canvas

24 x 24”

Juno as myself appears as a clay-like figure in ochre and stone-gray lips. She fills the space, pushing against the top and right sides of the canvas in broad, swooping brushstrokes suggestive of a generous, simplified female anatomy. Decorative curls of crimson flow from her center and her mouth is slightly open in exhale or protest. Pale greens and grays bring attention to the confines of the picture plane. Roman goddess Juno is the protector of women and those in confinement, ruler of childbirth, and mother of Mars. Blood refers the complex roles we play as women within the confines of the family: creator, nurturer and catalyst for transformation.