Terry Urban Flowers in my Heart, Demons in my Head For Sale

About this work

Terry Urban's "Flowers in my Heart, Demons in my Head" presents a striking duality through its monumental scale and layered mixed-media approach. The 60 x 48 inch canvas serves as a battlefield where opposing forces coexist in visual tension. Urban employs his characteristic technique of building surfaces through acrylic, oil, aerosol, and pastel, creating textural depth that rewards sustained viewing. Delicate floral imagery emerges throughout the composition, rendered with surprising tenderness, while darker, more chaotic elements intrude from the periphery and weave through the botanical forms. The interplay between spray paint's urban grit and the softer passages of oil and pastel speaks to the artist's ability to synthesize street art sensibilities with more traditional painterly concerns. The emotional register oscillates between vulnerability and aggression, capturing the internal contradictions that define contemporary existence. There is an unflinching honesty in how Urban addresses mental turbulence without resorting to melodrama—the demons referenced in the title manifest not as literal figures but as formal disruptions, aggressive mark-making, and passages where beauty seems under siege. Yet the flowers persist, suggesting resilience rather than defeat. This work exemplifies Urban's ongoing exploration of psychological landscapes and his commitment to emotional authenticity. His practice consistently navigates the space between abstraction and figuration, between control and spontaneity, making each canvas a document of lived experience. The painting stands as a powerful meditation on holding beauty and darkness simultaneously. For acquisition inquiries regarding this work, please contact Guy Hepner gallery in New York.