Untitled 

Editor: Here we have an untitled painting by John Kacere, created in gouache. The cropped composition gives it an air of both intimacy and detachment, which I find a little unnerving. What do you see in this piece, and how do you approach interpreting it? Curator: You know, when I look at this, I am immediately transported to an intimate realm, as if stumbling upon a whispered secret. It's about so much more than just skin, isn’t it? Kacere dares us to consider how desire itself is framed and filtered through the lens of societal norms, expectation, almost like an arranged window display. He's making us confront our gaze – are we appreciating, objectifying, understanding? Editor: I get that. The framing definitely directs the viewer. But is there a sense of complicity too? It’s almost like the subject is aware, perhaps inviting the viewer's gaze. Curator: Exactly. And that tension, that back-and-forth, is precisely what electrifies the painting. We project onto it, weave our stories within its outlines. In that respect, we the viewers, too, become characters within Kacere's theater of the gaze. What about the technique itself—what’s striking to you about the realism here? Editor: Well, I think the smooth finish almost neutralizes the flesh, almost making it a landscape. The eroticism becomes so hyper-real that it loops back to being…stark. Curator: Precisely! This sterile and strangely dreamlike painting nudges us to look not *at*, but *through*, uncovering our relationship with our very projections and expectations. It's rather genius, when you ponder. Editor: Definitely more to this painting than meets the eye at first glance. I'm seeing it in a totally different light. Curator: Art is all about discovery; it reveals as much about the viewer as the view, perhaps more so.