Someone to Hold

Artist: Mary Kamerer's Notes from the artist: The act of placing a stuffed monkey in an abandoned monkey's arms was small, but it was also profoundly human. It acknowledged a shared truth across species: that comfort matters, that touch matters, that no young creature should have to face the world entirely alone. In this way, my painting becomes more than a portrait of a toy. It becomes a meditation on compassion itself: how care can be improvised, how love can be symbolized, and how even the simplest gestures can create a moment of refuge. The little stuffed monkey sits patiently in the center of the canvas, reminding us that sometimes the smallest stand-ins carry the greatest emotional weight.