Cousins Love Triangle 2014

Paulo Tercio made this large painting of two figures caught in a rather torrid love triangle with paint on canvas, at a time that is unknown to me. The dark tones immediately give the piece an emotional intensity. The red and black stripes of the central figure’s torso push forward against the moody atmosphere of the background, they are like road markings in a nightmare. The paint application is smooth, not textural, which adds to the feeling that everything here is tightly controlled, almost sinister. The glowing fingertips pointing down seem to seal the viewer into the scene and give us no option but to stare in to the middle distance, searching for an escape route. I think it’s important to remember that love is never clean. This piece reminds me of Ensor’s paintings of masked figures, which are equally unsettling, with their bright colours and macabre atmospheres. Like Ensor, Tercio invites us to face the ambiguity of human relations, where darkness and beauty are intertwined.