Stranded 

Curator: Right now, we're looking at "Stranded", a mixed-media work in Erte's unmistakable Art Deco style. Editor: It's a strange little world, isn’t it? Gives me a theatrical feeling, as if the curtains are just about to open for a surreal performance. All that brilliant red against the icy blue… dramatic! Curator: Yes, Erte really leaned into the dramatic. Look at the sinuous lines of her pose and her elegant garments; it’s almost a study of refined isolation, isn't it? You feel the precariousness. Editor: Precarious is right! Perched on that jagged little rock like she's posing for eternity while the world, and all those miniature, stylized fishes, carry on without her. She's utterly alone but fabulous! The wave patterns hypnotize you with so much rhythmic dotting in blue and white. Curator: Erte often incorporated symbolism to enhance narrative; he had an exquisite sense of line that evokes the dynamism of life and form. Editor: All that detail draws you in! Erte has these flourishes; this composition, like stagecraft, suggests an impending climactic moment or maybe eternal suspension. Curator: There's that sense of tension, doesn’t it? Editor: Absolutely. "Stranded" indeed...a siren of the seas caught between dramas or something. What would happen if she plunged into that meticulously designed ocean? Curator: Ultimately, Erte captured his moment as an iconic storyteller for many a generation. His narrative economy left such lingering beauty, I think, in that visual short-hand. Editor: This work truly is quite spectacular. A single image brimming with narrative suggestion. Thank you, Erte, wherever you are!