Steve Holecka "Forgotten Tricycle" Painting

"Forgotten Tricycle" is nostalgic and evocative. Painted by Canadian Artist Steve Holecka, it reminds us of childhood moments, things that may still be solid in our minds, but not quite as memorable as we might think.

Holecka was born in 1940 and was largely inspired creatively by the Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s. According to the editors of the Site "Artland":

"... during the 1950's Abstract Expressionism, a form of painting that explored ideas of spirituality and the sublime, dominated. A number of artists concentrated on the formal properties of painting, and action painting was influenced by the political freedom of the United States, as opposed to the strict limitations of the Soviet bloc.

Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Frank Kline, Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still and Adolph Gottlieb were influential artists of this time. The male dominated environment has been subsequently revised to recognise the contributions of female artists such as Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, and Louise Bourgeois, amongst others."

Holecka's implied spirituality embodied in this painting suggests that whatever the onslaughts of our subsequent existence, the framework and materiality of our past — our toys, our happy moments — still exist, even if they rust.

The painting itself is about 15 1/4 wide and 13 1/2 inches tall. It is about 1.5 inches deep. It comes in a tasteful rustic frame and probably dates from the 1960's.