Viola D’Amore 

Curator: Allow me to introduce "Viola D'Amore," a captivating oil painting by Nelson Shanks. Editor: Oh, there’s a simmering heat to this; not overtly sensual but inwardly ablaze. A very human presentation of light and shadow that is quite unnerving. Curator: Indeed. While undated, the work certainly leans into a Romantic sensibility, particularly with its use of the nude form and symbolic instrument, a viola d’amore, crowned with flowers. It gives me this sense of some secret performance, a concert for no one. Editor: Yes, the floral crown definitely evokes ideas about the shifting meaning of life's impermanence. Crowns of this nature have deep roots in seasonal rituals celebrating renewal, growth, a brief display of vigor against inevitable decay... The presence of the viola – and she’s certainly holding that bow in an interesting fashion – perhaps alludes to hidden desires. There is this air of suppressed excitement. The heart pendant supports this idea of internal passions yearning to be awakened. Curator: Absolutely! Shanks seems to invite a narrative interpretation. It is more than just portraiture. Her body faces us, but she is also slightly turned as if she wants to offer the music. This is definitely about storytelling and visual metaphors. And do you notice how the source of light, warm and slightly lurid, highlights only specific areas and objects, which serves to emphasize what seems most vital? It's masterful, like controlled poetry. Editor: That warm glow absolutely sculpts meaning into form, doesn't it? There are very soft areas in the body; it speaks volumes to what remains obscured, left unsaid. I am touched by the ambiguity and implication present in every shade. It invites interpretation that delves deep into the soul's recesses and finds resonant connection points within. It offers just enough but leaves the discovery process entirely up to you. Curator: Yes! What seems veiled proves perhaps most expressive of all. An emotional space where art and interpretation entwine!