Ianus 1997

Stefan Caltia made *Ianus*, and immediately I’m drawn to the way he builds up his surfaces, the visible brushwork, and the layering of colors that create these soft, dreamlike scenes. It's clear that Caltia's artmaking is a real process. There is an island hovering above a figure in this piece. The figure has this tray and a bowl, like she's bringing an offering. There's something mystical about the way Caltia renders the light and shadow, especially around the floating island and the figure. It gives the painting an ethereal quality. The paint is applied in thin, translucent layers, allowing the underpainting to peek through, which adds to the overall sense of depth and atmosphere. Caltia’s work reminds me a bit of early Giorgio de Chirico, in the sense that the symbolic space is rendered in this heightened state of painterly feeling. Ultimately, Caltia’s painting embraces ambiguity. It’s up to you to decide what these figures and landscapes mean, and how they make you feel.