A Device For Difficult Conversations (2025) Original Mixed-media Painting by Tara Kelley-Cruz

What if a machine could help us say the things that matter? This piece imagines an interface for honesty, for compassion, for listening and really hearing and not taking offense.

Artist statement about the series: I’ve been reflecting on some of the hard parts of being human. Some of the things that cause anxieties and challenges. In this series, “Devices Facilitating Connection”, I imagined devices built not for productivity or power, but for connection. For listening. For feeling. For bridging challenges and deepening relationships.

Materials used:

Acrylic paint, collage paper, pencils, artgraf crayons, graphite

Details:

• Mixed-media painting on Panel / Board / MDF
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 30.48 x 30.48 x 2.54cm (unframed) / 30.48 x 30.48cm (actual image size)
• Ready to hang
• Signed on the front
• Style: Abstract
• Subject: Abstract and non-figurative