Versea Bourdaghs
The Art of Hope
In 2001, Versea initiated a new series of paintings. Each work includes a tiny white
human figure set against a dream-like nightscape. Eventually, the sequence would
include a dozen works, several of which were among her most acclaimed. She
described the series in a 2005 statement:
The Existential Hope Series
Existential Hope (2002)
Watercolor & pastel, 37” by 30"
Published in Women Artists Datebook 2004
(Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Cultural Workers, 2003)
Honorable Mention, 91st Annual Fine Arts Exhibition,
2002 Minnesota State Fair
Family collection
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Existential Hope #2 (2002)
Watercolor, 15" by 13"
Honorable Mention, Arts in Harmony, Elk River, MN, 2003
Family collection
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Existential Hope #4 (2002)
Watercolor (2003), 29”x25”
Private collection
Existential Hope #7 (2003)
Watercolor, 30”by 22”
Private collection
Existential Hope #8 (2003)
Also known as Jubilation
Watercolor, 15” by 15”
Private collection
You Are Made of Stardust (2004)
Existential Hope series
Watercolor, 15” by 22”
Private collection
In 2001 my focus shifted toward a more existential hope. This work is
more abstract and the color is shifting towards vivid blues and greens.
The human experience of trying to make sense of life in all its paradoxes
and unanswered questions is for me an inward journey. The paradox of
the inward journey is that it leads to the realization that one’s inner life, or
self, must move outward on a dialectical journey. If it remains only
within the self it is incomplete. We are all connected in the relational
web of all life. This is where my current work is focused.