Self-Portrait at a Table 1973 - 1976

Curator: Here we have Dieter Roth's "Self-Portrait at a Table," currently held in the Tate Collections. It's a large piece, about 73 by 108 centimeters. Editor: It looks chaotic, almost aggressively so. The palette is quite jarring—raw and energetic. Curator: Note the use of triptych form, a structure typically reserved for devotional images. The deconstruction of this form subverts any classical notions. Editor: Right. And the layered media, those frantic lines… it feels like Roth is wrestling with his materials. What kind of labor went into that, I wonder? Curator: Indeed. The surface is almost violently overworked. Look closely, one senses a struggle with representation itself. Editor: It's definitely not a comfortable self-image. It makes you consider the physical act of creation and the artist’s internal state. Curator: A fascinating exploration of the self through disruptive form and material. Editor: A brutal honesty, laid bare by process and medium. Food for thought.