Curtain Figure 1999

Curator: Nicola Tyson's "Curtain Figure," held at the Tate, presents a painted figure obscured by vertical lines—almost like a cage. What's your first reaction to it? Editor: It feels so vulnerable, almost painfully exposed. The lines create this weird tension between revealing and concealing. Curator: Absolutely. The artist's process seems to focus on distorting the body, challenging traditional modes of representation. The materials—likely oil on canvas—contribute to that fleshy, almost undone feel. Editor: And yet, there's a raw beauty there, too. Like peering into someone's soul as it's being formed or unmade. It stirs something deep, a recognition of the self. Curator: Tyson is deeply invested in gender and identity, dismantling societal expectations through the very act of applying paint. Editor: The piece really lingers, doesn't it? I find I’m left thinking about the power of art to expose our shared humanity, even in its most fragmented forms. Curator: Indeed, a compelling consideration of how we produce and consume images of ourselves.