Retablo for a door

A retablo is a painting created in thanks for divine protection or a miracle. In this luminous collection, Michelle Penn transposes the art form into poems that explore aspects of the female experience. Her retablos capture moments of vulnerability, confrontations with politics and societal ideals, the struggle to construct a self, and the search for something to believe in when protection and miracles seem rare. A rich palette of images-from nuclear blast glass and an atomic Madonna to a sword-swallowing Pierrot and a muse-for-hire-creates a compelling picture of endurance, defiance, and ultimately, hope.