Untitled 2019

Curator: Thomas Riesner created this piece, known only as "Untitled," in 2019. The composition is arresting, a study in contrasts. Editor: My initial reaction is unease. The stark white background amplifies the rawness of the figure. Its simplicity is almost unnerving. Curator: Indeed. Note how the artist uses primarily black, red, and white, achieving a stark visual impact. The lack of detail, the dripping lines—it all contributes to a sense of... unfinishedness. Or perhaps it’s a deconstruction. Editor: I see something ancient in it. That central red band and lower element suggest stylized garb, perhaps of a shaman or a sacrificial figure. Red, of course, is blood, passion, danger. It's visually centered as a focus for interpretation. Curator: Semiotically fascinating, this choice of layering meaning. We have what appears to be a rudimentary figure and a minimal number of color blocks to establish visual significance. Red against the neutral grey and black. Editor: The skull-like head combined with the stick-like arms conjures images of death or spirits. And yet there's also a child-like quality to the rendering. Is it perhaps a commentary on the monsters of childhood, brought into adulthood? Curator: The ambiguity is key. The "dripping" technique, repeated on the "arms", creates visual tension between a controlled stroke and seeming chance or even lack of conscious agency. We also can look to those vacant eyes, each rendered uniquely in size, giving it the feel of raw expression. Editor: The persistent association with symbols and images that haunt our collective memories is also powerful. Are the viewers simply injecting emotional weight or is there a fundamental essence to the drawing itself which triggers these ancestral resonances? Curator: Precisely. The viewer is as vital to the piece's significance as the artist. Its inherent form lends itself to myriad interpretations. The lack of explicit meaning, paradoxically, enhances its power. Editor: It seems to echo something primal, an archetypal figure of fear and mystery, and brings its unique style and meaning for us to grapple. Curator: Conclusively, a study in minimalist expressiveness.