Robert Rieger 2020

Editor: Gazmend Freitag's "Robert Rieger," created in 2020, is a pencil drawing that captures the sitter with an impressive economy of line. The gaze is intense, but I wonder, what do you see when you look at this portrait? Curator: Well, looking at this drawing, I see not just an individual, but also an echo of art history and its complex relationship with portraiture. It’s fascinating how even in contemporary work like this, the history of portraiture—traditionally commissioned by the elite to project power and status—still reverberates. In this piece, what's being communicated, do you think? Editor: It’s certainly not about projecting power in the traditional sense. There’s a vulnerability to it, an almost brutal honesty. Is that a reflection of contemporary society's attitude towards portraiture, a democratization of the form? Curator: Exactly. The subject isn’t idealized; the lines convey a sense of realism, almost as a study of character and human form. What's intriguing here is the interplay between intimacy and distance that it sets. In addition, by sharing his art online, the artist circumvents established galleries and their gatekeepers. He’s putting the work directly in the public’s eye. Does that inform our viewing, do you think? Editor: It definitely does. Knowing it's been shared so widely changes my perception. The artwork becomes accessible in a way that the art world hasn't been traditionally. It feels like the piece invites viewers to draw their own meaning in relation to the sitter. Curator: Precisely. The method of display undeniably changes the portrait. It certainly prompts a wider discussion of representation, who gets to be represented, and where. The politics of imagery, in this case, democratized and shared. Editor: This drawing definitely provides a new lens through which we may appreciate art as cultural commentary, shaped by how art enters public view. Curator: Indeed, it highlights how our understanding of art is constantly reshaped by social and technological forces.