Midnight Sun 2020

Curator: Looking at this captivating piece, "Midnight Sun" by Daria Theodora, painted in 2020, I am immediately struck by its otherworldly quality. The ethereal palette of pastels against that bold red sun… it feels like a dreamscape. Editor: Exactly. There’s a fragility here, a sort of tender sadness in her expression. But those sharp, meticulously rendered details of the objects, the small book, and even the chameleon really ground it in something tangible. What materials do you think she’s using? Curator: Daria's command over mixed media is very apparent. It appears she has favored working with watercolor and acrylic, with maybe some subtle incorporation of oil in select parts for richness and depth on perhaps canvas or treated paper. The textural layers of the painting, with its gradients and contrasts, appear almost collaged to me. Considering her thematic and art styles, how do these material choices connect with larger social currents, of making things? Editor: Well, considering we’re talking about a contemporary piece, the fusion of watercolor’s fluidity with the more assertive strokes of acrylic—to me, this suggests a negotiation between traditional methods and bolder contemporary mark-making, a hybrid process reflecting our constantly changing digital lives. But I keep coming back to the sun. Its impact and what that color might signify in a larger, socio-historical context. What are your thoughts? Curator: The oversized sun—quite unusual—could be interpreted in several ways. Perhaps referencing pre-modern mythological, solar symbolism and ancient ritual art-making and its ties with cultural identities and narratives. It acts like a source, casting light but also hinting at cycles of time and stories around night and day and change. What does that communicate to you? Editor: This makes me think about introspection, the journey towards emotional maturity. Looking at the small girl within that narrative—alone in the painting with her fantastical entourage— she reminds me of characters in myths forging paths into something unknowable and dangerous. Do you think there's an attempt to redefine beauty within societal context, perhaps moving away from strict or constrained portrayals? Curator: Absolutely. We see a lot of the "fantasy-art" stylistic characteristics here challenging norms in modern, figurative portraiture in what appears to be watercolor. So Daria is clearly building on something, perhaps taking us into a realm beyond societal and contemporary materialism. Editor: This has allowed me to see beauty differently. Curator: Me too. And consider different applications for creative narratives and identities, old and new.