Temperance

The angel in bronze, from fire to shadow, balancing two souls inside the cathedral of desire

BRONZE  12” x 5” x 5” |  Edition of 50

I am an artist drawn to the sacred tension between passion and restraint. I do not see Temperance as the denial of longing, but as the vessel strong enough to hold it. In my world, desire is not something to be conquered or silenced. It is a dark river, a flame, a winged thing moving through the body toward love.

In the piece “Temperance” I wanted to create an angel who understands that every force has its counterforce. Passion needs tenderness. Desire needs devotion. Darkness needs compassion. Love, when it is true, does not erase the hunger of the soul; it gives that hunger a place to kneel, a place to breathe, a place to become beautiful.

Temperance is not the angel who turns away from fire. Temperance is the angel who stands inside the fire and teaches it grace. She holds the balance between wanting and surrender, between the ache of the body and the mercy of the heart. In the gothic world of Stranded Hearts, she becomes the guardian of dark desire, reminding us that even the most passionate love must be held with reverence, or it will consume the very heart it longs to save.

— Gesso Cocteau