Enigma 2016

Curator: Standing before us is Michael Cheval's "Enigma" from 2016, an oil painting that invites us to explore layers of reality. Editor: It’s strange, I’ll say that right away. A woman dressed in what looks like Renaissance-era clothing… and then other women emerge from her skirt, like Russian nesting dolls. Very tactile, this feels very deliberate from the arrangement to how she is posed with the falling leaves and the cold landscape that contrast sharply. Curator: Indeed. Cheval often plays with perspective and narrative. The setting hints at a story unfolding, almost like a stage play. What role does this figure play? Is she the actor, the director, or perhaps a symbol? We must look beyond the surface. The Renaissance costuming reminds one of court portraiture, so this may also engage the historic imagery of women's power or influence. Editor: But that "surface" is carefully constructed! Oil paint allows for incredible detail—look at the fabric folds, the texture of the leaves, and consider the labor involved in this meticulous realism. It’s interesting to consider how craft informs meaning. It's one thing to point at a subject, it’s another to take oil paints and spend a great deal of time showing, carefully portraying the subject, the subject is therefore highly elevated with careful selection. The whole structure is embedded in this one process. Curator: The surrounding landscape too is interesting. Those bare trees set an almost somber tone. But is this merely an atmospheric setting, or a metaphor? Could they represent a barrier, a limiting structure within which this enigma exists? Editor: And then, those women popping out! Each in smaller dimensions is almost caught playing. Perhaps what one believes to see will reveal itself and come undone, like pulling a string to reveal secrets and mystery. Curator: An enigma indeed! What are your thoughts? Editor: The painting invites a reflection on artifice, performance, the nature of appearances, or material process revealing something perhaps deeply personal and embedded within structure. Curator: Precisely, making the entire piece about what's underneath and in full play! Editor: Absolutely! It makes one think differently about materiality.