Todd Monaghan, 2001, 44"/60"/1.5", oil, acrylic, egg shells, pastel on canvas.
Exploding Heart, painted by Monaghan in 2001, explores love and the heart's place in it. Love can sometimes feel like an explosion's of emotion and this painting examines that feeling. There are 2 visable hearts in the piece, the exploding heart and the second traditional heart. The painting has all the familiar faces and characters that animate most of Monaghan's works in it. Look for the lips and the eyes and you will see them. The piece gets its texture from the use of egg shells which is a common trait of Monaghan's works.