Takeout 2020

Curator: Salman Toor's painting, "Takeout," from 2020. It’s executed in mixed media, prominently featuring oil paint. It feels very…contained, almost claustrophobic. What's your first take on it? Editor: My immediate reaction is melancholic domesticity. It's bathed in this hazy, muted light. A feeling of languid comfort but also something subtly unsettling, like a dream you can't quite grasp. Curator: Let’s dig into that comfort. What reads as "domestic" to you, aside from the obvious details like the TV, the takeout, the room? Is it how the image uses everyday materials, elevating them to a higher register, questioning ideas about low brow subject matter? Editor: The messiness, I suppose. The socks, the worn-out chair, the casual intimacy between the figures. It evokes the specific feel of a shared space, lived-in and imperfect. To me, that's a significant marker. Curator: Toor often grapples with ideas around global identity and belonging. Can you read any of that thematic weight in "Takeout?" I am interested in thinking through these figures as global subjects existing in a state of transit or even rootlessness. Editor: Yes, I see it. Look at the way they are passively engaging with what’s on the screen and barely connected with one another; it amplifies that sense of transience. They're consuming, yes, both food and images, but are they truly present? It's a powerful statement on modern isolation, a recurring motif in his work. Curator: Toor also plays with historical art references, a dialogue across time. "Takeout" almost feels like a contemporary take on genre paintings, domestic scenes that speak to social context. Editor: It's absolutely there, but twisted, subverted. We get a glimpse of something both familiar and alienated, almost like peering into a faded memory. What a compelling collision of influences and sentiments. Curator: Ultimately, it’s interesting how "Takeout," in its focus on materiality, challenges conventional notions of identity and location. It speaks to broader social realities. Editor: I concur; it's a tender yet poignant glimpse into our shared, screen-mediated lives. "Takeout" leaves you with a lingering unease, prompting you to consider our connections and where we seek solace.