Ascension by the Sea 2020

Jana Brike painted "Ascension by the Sea" using oil on canvas, but I don’t know when! The colour palette is really interesting, using the tones in the sky, from pale yellows to burnt oranges, and how it makes the sea almost an acidic turquoise. There’s something about the smoothness of the surface that feels almost dreamlike. The painting has this very glossy, polished finish, which gives it this strange, unreal quality. I keep coming back to how the woman floats in the middle of the image. She’s totally still, but also in motion, you know? It’s like Brike is trying to capture a moment of transformation, and it’s so well done. Brike's work reminds me of Remedios Varo, who also paints these surreal, otherworldly scenes with a real sense of mystery. In art, like in life, nothing is ever totally fixed. It’s a process of constant questioning and re-evaluation, isn’t it?