summer of the wild wallflower 2015

Editor: Here we have Jana Brike's "Summer of the Wild Wallflower," created in 2015 with oil paint. I'm immediately struck by the subject's gaze. It's innocent, yet there's something knowing about it. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Oh, I love that! It's like looking into a sun-drenched memory. I get a real sense of girlhood on the cusp of something… a bittersweet moment of freedom before responsibilities swoop in. The roses and ribbons tangled in her hair feel like fleeting summer decorations. Do you notice how the background, with its wide-open sky, feels both liberating and strangely ominous with those contrails? It's a rural idyll, slightly disrupted, yes? Editor: Definitely, those contrails add a modern, almost jarring element to what initially seems like a very romantic portrait. What’s the effect, do you think? Curator: It’s like Brike's saying, “even in the most beautiful moments, the outside world encroaches.” And perhaps a question... Is childhood innocence a truly sustainable illusion in our current climate? It could be a lament or a gentle caution, no? What about the girl's eyes and lips? Editor: The artist certainly focused on those features! They draw you in, almost uncomfortably so. It is like looking at a Botticelli Venus with a slightly disquieting self-awareness. Curator: Exactly. Botticelli’s Venus transported to a Latvian summer... There’s a dreamlike quality, a soft focus… but those eyes see more than they let on. A "wallflower" is rarely shy... more like observant, wouldn't you say? It makes you wonder what her summer holds, doesn't it? Editor: I think it is about possibilities—both the good and the less good...Thank you! I definitely have a new perspective on this portrait. Curator: My pleasure! Every gaze is a conversation, waiting to be heard... This one is definitely asking important questions.