Diane Grieco

“The Weight of Nostalgia” is seductive, color-rich, and complicated. This piece embodies a decades- long endeavor to examine that

weight, to better understand it, and to carry it somewhat gracefully. The vest itself is heavy. Its chicken-wire frame is uncomfortable, and it

might just fall apart. It is easy to admit being attracted to toys and illustrations from a romanticized past- more difficult to admit love of

cheap but vivid souvenirs found in thrift shops, or those depicting peoples who have been oppressed. The world is not populated solely by

beautiful children in native dress. Is it not possible,though, that the charms of such lovely little figures, like folktales from other lands,

function to open pathways to open-hearted exploration beyond the familiar?