A Breeze Blows Leaves In

Judith Schaechter is an internationally-known stained glass artist based in Philadelphia who uses the medium to explore a broad range of psychological narratives, autobiographical content, and transgressive subject matter. Her narratives are often open-ended, emulating the manner in which some Christian iconography was deployed in stained glass decorations for churches; viewers 'read' the images in the glass and recognized the Biblical or mythological stories they conveyed. Schaechter's narratives have no such firm grounding in text; they are more personal and rely on viewers to react from experience and emotional associations. Here, as Schaechter has said, the same figure is shown in the same image occupying two places in time, 'simultaneously entering and exiting' the scene. "I strive to make works that mean different things to different people so I edit them for neutrality. I am trying to go for something many people can relate to," she says. The scene evokes a transitional place 'in-between' answers, events, and stages in life, which might inspire longing or despair as the unknown lies ahead.