My Sunshine-Stainless

“A knight in shining armour. Transparent and full of hope. On a crusade to love.” – Mackenzie Thorpe

In this limited edition stainless sculpture for sale, Mackenzie Thorpe depicts a child, in his signature style, dancing along while reaching a single sunflower high into the sky. He is ready to give his flower and his love to whoever he encounters. Like the children in Thorpe’s paintings, this figure has no face and is wearing a simple duster coat with sturdy shoes. He depicts his children in this way because he wants the viewer to be able to see himself in the image, regardless of race, gender, or background.

This sculpture is life size, measuring 77” tall. Thorpe likes to work in stainless steel because the viewers are able to stand eye to eye with the figure and literally see themselves reflected back. They can look inside the flower or the child’s face and see themselves as they were at 10 years old. He has no face because he is everybody; All viewers are mirrored in the artwork. Thorpe invites people to interact with his work and loves this participatory element.

The medium also allows for the child to be strong, wearing a suit of armor, during a time in his life where he may be vulnerable. He is protected because all he wants to do is spread love and positivity. This sculpture is gentle and peaceful, filled with hope and lightheartedness as the child arabesques with his flower held high. All he wants to do is give love and to be loved in return. We have all been in a position where we may be feeling vulnerable but we need to have hope and carry on anyways. Thorpe wants to emphasize that we will be there again, and that love is the biggest, most important thing that will get us through it.

Like the sunflowers, Thorpe believes that children are able to sow love, by planting its seed at our feet. This piece has an overwhelming theme of hope and joy. Children naturally bring love into the world, it’s as we grow older than prejudices and negative thoughts develop. They bring love and positivity naturally, making everyone smile. This sentiment is contagious and it grows, just like the sunflowers.

The gorgeous sunflower in this Mackenzie Thorpe artwork is not dissimilar to the wildflowers you may see near our gallery in Lake Tahoe. Marcus Ashley Gallery is one of Lake Tahoe’s premier fine art galleries, situated in Heavenly Village’s bustling shopping district. Along with several Mackenzie Thorpe artworks for sale, the gallery exhibits 40+ of the most famous artists of our time.