A Certain Sacrifice 

Curator: This painting is entitled "A Certain Sacrifice" by the artist Troy Brooks. He works primarily in oil paints. Editor: Immediately, I sense an air of haunting fragility. The color palette is muted, almost ghostly, but those red lips and the pin… they're such sharp accents. It feels like a whispered secret. Curator: Brooks' work is often categorized as Pop-Surrealism or Neo-Expressionism. The influence of realism allows for this intimacy while pushing for figurative imagery that blends classical portraiture with hyper stylized bodies. Editor: Hyper-stylized indeed. Look at that elongated neck, like a Modigliani but even more so. And the butterfly pinned to her shoulder... such a delicate creature treated so cruelly. It evokes a powerful sense of wounded beauty, doesn’t it? Curator: Definitely, the butterfly speaks to transformation and beauty but pinned could signify an imposed domesticity. The subject is contained; we could explore the constraints placed on women, objectification, and how these things affect women's expression. The labor involved to achieve such intricate detail with oil paint on such a smooth canvas can easily be missed. Editor: It’s almost theatrical, isn't it? The lace detailing of her dress feels both incredibly precious and slightly suffocating. The blood there, is she being injured by this…performance of femininity? Curator: Considering the themes present throughout Brooks' work and how this imagery reoccurs, a central theme speaks to a tension between beauty, decay, control, and violence. His art creates moments suspended in a surreal, timeless realm where his women exist on their own terms. Editor: She is a little scary. And also, oddly compelling. Like a character in a very stylish horror film. I want to know her story. Curator: Exactly. And examining his paintings under these circumstances will keep us occupied and rewarded. Editor: Right. There is such narrative potential, it draws us in completely. Thanks, this was enlightening!