Spring Brocade 2008

Editor: Ivan Eyre’s "Spring Brocade" from 2008. It's a very curious painting using acrylic, to me it evokes the feeling of nature and quiet contemplation, yet the figure is so strange. What do you make of it? Curator: Curious is right! For me, it feels like a waking dream. Notice how the interior and exterior landscapes blend, almost fighting for dominance. What do you think Eyre is trying to say about our connection with the natural world and the human psyche? I wonder if the stark black background is the inner self while everything inside the character figure are thoughts floating inside the head? Editor: That's a great perspective. The blending of inner and outer landscapes never occurred to me. It also seems like a loaded environmental statement for a painting entitled, "Spring Brocade." Curator: Indeed! Do you notice the peculiar shape cut out in the figure’s head? Editor: Oh, right. Like... bunny ears, or two diverging paths maybe? Curator: Or maybe how our thoughts are never neatly contained, always branching off in unexpected directions. What happens if one gets up from the table to engage the spring air? Will thoughts remain the same? Editor: This makes me look at that single coffee mug in an entirely different way, too! From the black, one may want to enjoy the blue mug and "go outside", and maybe "stay inside" at the same time? Curator: Precisely! Art's about these personal dialogues, wouldn’t you say? We can always carry pieces of Eyre's landscape with us while sitting inside. Editor: Absolutely! I initially just saw a figure with nature inside, now I see the endless possibilities of inner contemplation that an acrylic painting can achieve.