Landscape Cernay La Ville 

Curator: Here we have Kitty Lange Kielland’s “Landscape Cernay La Ville”, a stunning plein-air painting. My immediate feeling is this evokes a sort of tranquil observation. There’s someone actually painting *within* the scene. Do you feel it, that doubling, the artistic presence made almost humble by the scale of the natural world? Editor: The visible process is exactly what grabbed me! The labor here. Someone, presumably Kielland herself, carefully arranging her easel, hauling canvases and oils into the woods. And for what? The painting in the painting, is it even sellable or lasting or of good use at all, it's a question that hangs over. The economics are a big deal. Curator: You bring a fresh lens, it’s true. I hadn’t zoomed out to think about its context like that. The labor, and the artist’s place within a world so caught up in material conditions, really echoes through the piece now that you've shared this. Kielland wasn't simply capturing a scene; she was immersed in its textures, scents and sounds in this act of recording. There’s a stillness to it, perhaps. An acceptance of being just one part of something bigger, like standing in your own place. I wonder if that painter there isn't meant to represent an eye or some sense, an allegory. Editor: Still, I wonder, does it challenge conventional high art ideals if it's also a product, bought, sold, and ultimately commodified? Curator: It's a delicate dance, I think. Kielland seems aware of that tension. It’s this realism style married with fleeting impressions captured using quick plein-air techniques. I bet there are many material negotiations, so to speak. Editor: The way this changes how I now experience this art as I see it is also part of it's allure. So maybe there is more than an immediate transaction or sale to view here, like you say, it all plays a part, right down to what oils were on hand, so that it could get to the frame itself! Curator: I think it becomes part of what is seen, experienced, recorded...Yes, indeed. Everything plays its part. What a journey. Editor: Agreed! A wonderful work with many facets.