Cover 2014

Editor: So, this is Timur Akhriev's "Cover," painted in 2014. It's oil on canvas, a figurative portrait. There's this real… grittiness to it, I think. Almost cinematic. I'm really drawn to the dramatic lighting. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Mmm, cinematic, yes! It’s got that neo-noir feel. Notice how the face is almost emerging from darkness, yet there's that vibrant halo effect from the flame…it reminds me of Caravaggio, honestly, but updated for the 21st century. The impasto technique—those thick, juicy strokes of paint—really contribute to the immediacy of the image. It’s like a fleeting moment captured in molten colour. And I can't help thinking what the story is – is the sitter covering their face from something, like pain? Covering it with something else? It makes you wonder about secrets, right? Editor: Yeah! Like they’re caught in a moment. I'm getting a feeling of introspection, too. It’s interesting you mention Caravaggio because of the chiaroscuro effect. What makes it Neo-Expressionist, then, rather than just Expressionist? Curator: Ah, good question! The raw emotion is classic expressionism, definitely. But think about the date – 2014. Neo-expressionism revived those older aesthetics but often with a self-aware, sometimes ironic twist. This portrait possesses an unsettling beauty that's hard to pin down. It's expressive, certainly, but also performative somehow. Editor: Performative...that's an interesting way to put it. It makes me reconsider the sitter's gaze – almost confrontational. It has been nice re-evaluating and rethinking my own initial view! Curator: Exactly. Art's like a hall of mirrors. Every perspective shows something different, maybe even back to ourselves. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gasping for a cigarette, and that glow is catching!