Cloud Tailor 2018

Editor: This is Michael Cheval’s “Cloud Tailor,” painted in 2018 using oils. The composition is certainly thought-provoking, juxtaposing the grandness of a cloud-like fabric with the mundane task of tailoring. It's strangely intimate. What do you make of this seemingly bizarre, yet intriguing scene? Curator: Oh, I love how Cheval spins the ordinary into the utterly fantastic! The gentleman, a tailor seemingly ripped from a period drama, hunches over his work as this ethereal figure models the fabric. It feels like a meditation on the creative process itself, doesn't it? Imagine the sky as your atelier, the clouds as raw material waiting to be shaped. He’s not just sewing cloth; he’s capturing dreams, stitching moments of fleeting beauty. Don’t you feel a sense of yearning in this picture? Editor: Absolutely. There's a contrast between the romantic idea of cloud tailoring and the grounded, almost melancholic figure of the tailor. The props—tea kettle, wine—lend this domestic air. It’s dreamlike, but… real. What’s that about? Curator: Reality and dreams, or better still, surrealism and realism here coexist in perfect, strange harmony. This interplay suggests art-making as the convergence of fantasy and craft, of inspiration and, let’s be honest, a bit of tedious work! I wonder, are we all, in some ways, tailors of our own clouds? Editor: That’s beautiful, stitching together our realities! It transforms the mundane act into something much more meaningful and resonant. Curator: Indeed, and isn't that the enchantment of Cheval’s work? We unravel threads of familiarity only to discover a canvas woven with imagination and delightful absurdity. It leaves us delightfully altered.