Breakfast with Giraffes 2016

Dmytro Kavsan made "Breakfast with Giraffes," and what a start to the day that would be! Just imagine Kavsan at the easel, layering thin washes of oil paint to build up this strange scene. I love how the warm yellows and browns of the savanna contrast with the cool blues of the sky, then you spot the giraffes. But here’s the twist: in the foreground is a table set for breakfast, complete with tiny figures milling about amongst the oysters and cocktail glasses. What's going on? I sympathize with Kavsan. Maybe he was thinking about how we often view nature from a distance, framing it as a spectacle. The table could represent our attempts to domesticate or consume the wild, turning it into a curated experience. It's odd, playful, and thought-provoking—reminds me a bit of Magritte, but with a wilder, more surreal edge. It's like he's saying, “Hey, let's have breakfast with giraffes... but let's also think about what that really means.”