With a busy schedule you’d need a guidebook to navigate, I never have enough time in the day to connect with everyone I want to. Oftentimes, by the time I remember that I wanted to call a colleague with a quick thought, it’s two in the morning and my puppies are crying for me to come to bed. Once in a while, though, I see something that is riveting.

I recently attended Art Basel 2017 and was deeply impacted by the connections I formed and the beautiful artwork abounding throughout Miami Beach. I had a cathartic experience when my eyes settled on the work of Italian artist El Gato Chimney. My excitement must have been obvious as I was captivated by the color and images in his work.

The painting I fixated on depicts a swan with a community of burning birdhouses on its back. Held down by ropes, and bleeding from its battle, the resolute swan won’t succumb to its restraints and fights to gain its flight and freedom. A different painting similarly portrays a bird with smoking birdhouses on its back, the difference being that this bird and its houses are already airborne.

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