Hope by Justin Wozniak
This original painting was purchased directly from Justin Wozniak in 2020, after we met during a class with Dana Jester and Steve Ross in September 2019.
When I asked Justin if I could purchase Hope, I also asked whether he would write down a few thoughts about the work. When the painting arrived, a letter from him was attached.
I have never opened that letter.
At the time, I realized that what I had asked for may have been more personal than I intended, and I chose to leave his words private. The letter has remained with the painting ever since.
That small piece of history has become part of what makes Hope special to me — not just the painting itself, but the connection to the artist and the moment in which it was acquired.
For a collector, this piece carries something unusual: an original work with a direct personal history, preserved exactly as it arrived.