September Gallery Exhibit:

Philip Barasch, “Bearing Witness”

Sept 9 - Oct 8

Philip Raymond Barasch and Charis Elizabeth Hughes walked into each other’s lives in February of 1989. They fell in love and stayed in love for 33 years.

“Bearing Witness” is a series of 19 oil paintings structured after the Stations of the Cross. In the 62 days from her diagnosis with a brain tumor in April 2022, to her departure, Charis Barasch—a devout Christian—literally manifested her theology. "Bearing Witness" expresses in words and text what was revealed to her husband of 33 years, Philip Barasch, in her final weeks. This exhibition embodies both a final wish and an act of unconditional love between husband and wife.

Philip has maintained a lifelong interest in sequential art. He is the creator of HandHewn, a magazine designed to explore the Graphic Short Story art form. His years in Portland, Oregon included involvement with The Stumptown Comic Book Convention, Sequential Art Gallery and Talisman Gallery.

Philip and his wife Charis relocated to Astoria in 2018. Charis departed this world in 2022, radically altering Philip's art form. He is now creatively consumed by this forced, revolutionary reinvention.