The Wayward Strawberry 2020

Curator: Milt Kobayashi's "The Wayward Strawberry," painted in 2020 using oil, presents us with an intimate scene. The figure and its placement command immediate attention, don't you think? Editor: It does. The intensity of the red grabs you first, doesn't it? It's the color of passion, of course, but also perhaps of warning – the averted gaze gives the piece a strange mood, almost…troubled. Curator: Indeed. Consider how Kobayashi manipulates the oil paint. The impasto technique gives the figure a tactile quality. The thick layering of the paint, particularly noticeable in the dress and the red backdrop, provides textural contrast against the smoother rendering of the figure’s skin. Note also how the composition itself contributes to the narrative. The wayward strawberry itself in the foreground provides an uncanny detail and contrast with the heavy saturation in the red, further contributing to this dynamic tension within the pictorial space. Editor: Strawberries often represent temptation, or even lost innocence. Given the way she looks away, almost in shame or regret, and that she has seemingly dropped this potent symbol…it seems the artist is hinting at some deeper meaning. And then the use of red - of course a classic colour, associated with vitality and passion. Kobayashi paints the fruit as a symbol that holds the power to ruin a woman's life. This simple, almost naïve portrayal is also infused with tragedy. The whole picture holds something darker and somewhat unsettling. Curator: And while the color is quite evocative, let's focus on the formal decisions. The lines defining the figure are blurred and broken, characteristic of a Neo-Expressionist style, which undermines the idea of stable representation of the subject; it challenges conventional notions of form and figuration. Note, as well, that this departure makes it so we should consider the raw materiality of the oil-paint and color relationships more. The painting isn't necessarily telling a story in the conventional sense, is it? Editor: I disagree with this assertion. Neo-Expressionism uses such formal methods exactly to augment a narrative. The subject in "The Wayward Strawberry" becomes more complicated than just the aesthetic handling of its materials when these factors work in harmony. There is a human story, with real social, cultural, and psychological weight behind its construction, that these symbolic choices underscore. Curator: Interesting... Ultimately, regardless of how we interpret the themes here, Kobayashi challenges our perceptions of portraiture, representation and contemporary figuration through this painting, so I concede there is not one specific direction it seems to be intended to be taken. Editor: It really does capture the feeling that even a fleeting image, and a solitary moment of emotion, can echo across generations.