Tombeau Imaginaire 2 2019

Elina Brotherus made "Tombeau Imaginaire 2" with a camera and the great outdoors. Look at the way she approaches the landscape, not as a vista, but as a conversation, a process of framing and responding. The image is built from layers of texture: the rough, geological forms of the rocks in the foreground, softened by the middle distance, the sharp-edged silhouette of the figure in the center, and the hazy mountains in the background. The palette is muted, almost monochromatic, emphasizing tone and texture over vibrant color. Look at the rock on the right, pushing into the frame, its surface worn smooth by time, and the way Brotherus uses it to frame the figure, as a way of drawing your eye into the stillness and calm of the image. Brotherus's work often plays with the tradition of landscape painting, filtered through a contemporary, photographic lens. You might think of the cool, contemplative mood of Caspar David Friedrich, but with a contemporary sensibility and a painter's eye for composition. Ultimately, art is an ongoing exploration, a conversation across time and space.