Artwork Description
Eric Zener – Summer Diver
Dimensions: 49 x 41″ finished size / 49 x 41 unframed
Year: 2017
Medium: mixed media on panel
In Summer Diver, Eric Zener uses the weightlessness of the diving figure to convey a sense of human vulnerability; as the element fundamental to human life, the woman is suspended as if within the womb’s fluid and represents an insignificant component of a much larger and dynamic force. In order to derive value from water, it is often manipulated so that it flows from the tap with the twist of a knob, but here, the water encompassing the diver is free from her authority, where her corporeal presence and movements are dictated by the very subject of her control.
Eric Zener’s water-themed paintings are among the most well known and collectible of all his works. Such paintings by Zener are the subject of a monograph on his work, and water-themed paintings such as this one have been shown in museums throughout the United States.