Embracing Heart

This striking sculpture on the front lawn of the Knox Presbyterian Church is based upon the Biblical story of the Prodigal Son, specifically Luke 15:20: “…but while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.” One of the hands represents the father, the other hand is the son. However, the sculpture was designed in a way to represent everyone.

The heart is a universal symbol of love. The artist also considered it to be a symbol of unconditional love which he combined with the image of someone throwing their arms around another. The paint used on the sculpture was in the shade of an individually mixed Brandywine. Depending on the position of the sun when one looks at the sculpture, it reflects different colors without ever being a primary red. According to the artist, the combination of all the pieces creates a symbol of unconditional acceptance serving as a visual definition of acceptance.