Title: Black Rhino

Status: Institutional Acquisition (Maple Grove Arts Center)

Medium: Acrylic on Wood Panel

Size: 36 x 48 inches | 91 x 122 cm

"Painted during a dedicated period of inquiry into the natural world, Black Rhino serves as a meditation on the fragility of existence and the silence of extinction. Created in the shadow of the Western Black Rhino’s 2011 extinction, the work confronts the viewer with the steady, prehistoric gaze of a creature pushed to the absolute margin of survival.

In this 36x48 study, the rhino is not merely a biological subject, but a symbol of the 'Conflict' inherent in preservation. The heavy textures and high-contrast methodology mirror the internal endurance required to withstand systemic erasure. Originally featured at the American Swedish Institute, this work marks a foundational moment in the studio’s mission to name the invisible—linking the displacement of the natural world to the human displacements explored in the later Rōstrum and Living in Tents series."

-Daniel Montoute