(Winter Cardinal)
Pizzalli
Found 12/2015, Thrift Land (Stassney and Congress)

Christmas, and indeed many winter holidays, are built around the light in the darkness, a little glimmer of hope on the longest night. Perhaps that’s the reason the showy red cardinal has become something of a Christmas symbol itself, a proud little bird, a bird that braves the winter and stands out brightly against the snow.

While Pizzalli’s cardinal dominates the image with his red feathers, shocking against the gray-blue sky, he is not the only color in the canvas. Red berries, the colorful (but secondary) yellow bird, even the artist’s signature is red. Perhaps Pizzalli suggests that while a solstice celebration is singular, there are moments of light to be found throughout the winter.