Feel like you still have a choice #5 

Curator: Immediately, I’m struck by the intensity of the gaze in Cathrine Edlinger-Kunze’s painting, "Feel like you still have a choice #5.” There's an ambiguity in that title; it resonates. Editor: Yes, the subject's direct eye contact holds the composition together amidst all the apparent chaos. Look at the surface texture—so much vigorous impasto applied with what seems like almost violent energy. The grey hues surrounding the central figure act as a compositional anchor to prevent it from being fully devoured by the flames in her gaze. Curator: The colors employed evoke a sense of fiery transformation or perhaps burning away an old self. This visual burning can signify different symbolic possibilities based on the viewer’s interpretation. Is it destruction or purification, freedom or devastation? Editor: I see it as a deconstruction of form. The head and shoulder are clearly rendered, yet the figure dissolves into layers of abstract marks. Notice the diagonal slashes; there is an active push and pull that keeps the eye dancing. Even the red pigment around the lips appears like an open gash, a mark of violent alteration and change, the antithesis of resolution. Curator: Yes, that aggressive application of paint hints at an internal conflict or struggle. But what's interesting is that the face itself remains relatively untouched. There is pain evident in their eyes. Perhaps they are in the act of losing something and can only stand witness? Editor: Perhaps, but the chromatic tension also creates the drama; the raw umber and orange palette feels almost abrasive when seen alongside that smooth, pallid complexion. We see that this artist used mixed media techniques which gives depth to this intriguing figuration. Curator: It is interesting that despite the intensity, the overall impact feels almost melancholic. The raw canvas left exposed on parts of the background acts almost as a ghost reminding me of something lost. Editor: For me, the exposed ground only emphasizes the incomplete nature of being. A snapshot in transformation; a testament to our intrinsic multiplicity. It leaves me eager to discover what came before. Curator: And after. It is hard not to imagine what events may lay ahead of her. This piece captures the powerful potential that the human face has for reflecting our hidden truths. Editor: True. It’s a brave painting that exposes as much as it conceals, inviting each viewer to contend with that very revealing tension.