Untitled 2016

Editor: We're looking at Gennady Mironov's "Untitled" from 2016, created with acrylic paint, potentially incorporating charcoal as well. There's a starkness to this landscape; these shapes in the foreground that might be trees feel almost skeletal. What catches your eye? Curator: I am drawn to the materiality and processes at play. Note the texture achieved through layering of paint – the roughness speaks to the manual labor involved. The title, or lack thereof, is critical. "Untitled" invites us to focus not on symbolic representation, but the raw materials and their transformation. How do the rough brush strokes speak to a commentary on our exploitation of natural resources, particularly in a landscape painting? Editor: I see what you mean. I was trying to figure out what the trees were supposed to *mean*, but maybe it's more about what the artist *did* to the paint. It is hard to not see the trees though! Curator: Precisely. Consider also the economic context. Where were the materials sourced? How does their origin influence our reading of the piece? What does Mironov communicate by leaving the context open to our projections about the land, resources, or industrial elements? The blurring of lines, the atmospheric perspective, draws focus to materiality in the act of representation. Is Mironov alluding to social alienation connected to nature's industrial transformation? Editor: So, it’s less about a beautiful scene, and more about thinking about the literal "stuff" of the artwork and where it comes from. Interesting! Curator: Exactly. It is less about passive viewing, but acknowledging the materials involved in a piece; acrylic, pigment, and brush. In turn, how consumption is intertwined with art itself and nature. Editor: Thanks! That really opened my eyes to a new perspective. Curator: Indeed, thinking of materials and production lets us interpret the work beyond its aesthetic appearance.