The way I am 

Cathrine Edlinger-Kunze painted “The way I am” with the expressive potential of oil on canvas. The artist’s hand is present in every brushstroke, in the thick impasto of the paint, and the drips and scumbles of color. Edlinger-Kunze seems to revel in the very substance of her medium. Notice how the texture isn't just representational, it's physically present; the weight of the paint adding a tactile dimension to the face. The artist takes a rather conventional genre – portraiture – and infuses it with a restless, unresolved quality. The title suggests a self-portrait, a reflection on identity. The painting embraces a tradition of studio-based practice, yet it also invites broader social questions. How does the labor involved in creating such a work – the hours of focused attention, the skilled manipulation of materials – contribute to its value? By emphasizing the materiality and the making, Edlinger-Kunze challenges the notion of art as a purely intellectual pursuit. Instead, she brings us face-to-face with the physical act of creation, and with the complex relationship between artist, material, and artwork.