Jack Balas, 2021; FAREWELL TO A FRIEND #2199;
India ink and gouache on paper, 30x22 inches
(Large figure borrowed from Fernand Leger)

Text:
We were driving around Chicago, Bruce and I, September 1, 1976, when he pulled into the parking lot at the Field Museum and ran into the bookstore. He came out with two copies of a huge book, a catalog for a show they were having, photos taken along the border between the U.S. and Canada: BETWEEN FRIENDS- ENTRE AMIS. He handed me a copy and we inscribed them to each other, a token of our friendship.
When I heard yesterday of his passing I reached for the book and in it found a passage about the border and how it cannot be found when looking at the stars. I began this painting, a full moon came up, and tonight after a brilliant sunset I will be looking at the stars.

Bruce Klein, 1955 --2021, R.I.P.