Leo 

Curator: So, here we have a portrait by Fernanda Suarez titled "Leo." The medium appears to be acrylic paint, and it feels steeped in fantasy art traditions, blending figuration and what I sense as powerful symbolic meaning. What is your first impression? Editor: Fierce. Raw power radiating from those lions and mirrored in the woman's gaze. And it’s interesting how she uses those radial golden lines behind the figure. It evokes both classical depictions of saints and even advertisements using rays of sun to advertise health. But what do you think, looking closer at the materiality—those acrylics used for the subjects skin. Curator: The acrylic gives it a fascinating smooth finish, almost like skin rendered in porcelain. It does play into the feeling of the work being highly mediated through her unique visual language—the lions look painted and expressive but also incredibly real and present in a certain sense, an impression sustained in the details around her eyebrows. How do you interpret the material choices in light of what the piece might be trying to communicate about power? Editor: The evenness, the deliberate finish… it seems like an attempt to create a cohesive world. Think about it - portraiture is so much about idealization, even more when combined with fantasy art elements like we have here. Curator: I see. The artist isn't simply trying to capture likeness, but rather to express a certain internal feeling that resonates from that symbolic connection to lions—strength, independence, royalty even. Editor: And don’t forget about labor! This artist painted those sunburst lines knowing that they appear also as a branding motif – it reflects the art historical trope of divine light with connotations of product endorsement. So you're getting this very clear statement in technique of the power dynamic and economic value present in our image saturated reality. It would have taken many painstaking hours. Curator: A really interesting point; all these subtle cultural messages in a fantasy setting. I suppose, as our time draws to a close, I take with me a refreshed understanding of how deeply entangled even seemingly fanciful artworks can be within the broader web of materials and making and meanings in society. Editor: Indeed. Next time I'm leafing through the artwork, I know my mind will immediately wonder "what are its bones? How was this manufactured and what world does that imply?"