Arches 

Editor: This is "Arches" by Konstantin Gorbatov. While the exact date is unknown, the canvas evokes a warm and almost hazy atmosphere. The arches themselves create a repetitive visual rhythm that leads your eye through the painting. What stories do you think this work is telling? Curator: Well, first, consider the title: Arches. That immediately directs our gaze and understanding. Who is granted passage and who is excluded by such structures, both physically and metaphorically? How do societal power structures manifest in the architecture and spaces people inhabit? Think about gendered spaces, racial segregation… how might we read those issues in this painting? Editor: I never considered that. I was only looking at the technical aspects. The way the light falls is interesting though. Curator: Precisely! But consider: who is allowed to bask in that light, and who remains in shadow? Who built those arches? Who maintains them? And whose stories are often left out of traditional architectural histories? What's absent? Editor: So, looking at art isn’t just about aesthetics, but about digging deeper into questions of power. Curator: Absolutely. And this isn’t just about pointing fingers or assigning blame. It’s about acknowledging the complex and often contradictory forces that shape our world, and how those forces are reflected, consciously or unconsciously, in art. Even in how sunlight dapples an archway. Editor: I see... I am going to pay more attention to details now and try to place artworks in their contexts. Thank you. Curator: And to interrogate those contexts as well. Whose voices do we amplify when we choose to focus on particular artistic narratives? That’s our ongoing task.