Zen Koan

Wendy Trattner Verified independent store

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An experimental piece layered with sculpted text and torn pages from over-explained koan books like The Gateless Gate, this piece began as an attempt to capture Zen itself. I wrote “ZEN” in bold raised letters, seeking simplicity—but the effort became tangled. Frustrated, I painted over everything and scrawled “well I tried… too hard.” In the end, the painting became its own koan: a quiet joke, a failed pursuit that points to truth. Like Zen, it accepts everything—the trying, the failing, the overthinking, and the letting go. Show more