Image Maker 2021

Editor: Here we have Michael Cheval's 2021 oil painting, "Image Maker". There’s such a dreamlike quality to it. The woman in this peculiar dress, almost like a strange architectural form, and then there's the rooster... it's unsettling, but in a really fascinating way. What jumps out at you when you look at this? Curator: Isn’t it marvelous? I think Cheval is suggesting a conversation between reality and fabrication, between what's 'natural' and what's constructed, especially by the artist's eye. Look at the egg shapes adorning her dress – they could be seeds, origins of new life and ideas, gestating under her vision. Editor: That's interesting – the eggs as seeds of ideas! And she's seemingly painting the rooster. Do you think Cheval is commenting on the role of the artist, maybe exaggerating it? Curator: Perhaps, or questioning where creativity truly stems from. Is it from some kind of primal muse – the rooster, a symbol of dawn and new beginnings? Or is it the artist's own ability to conceive these images from virtually nothing? It is indeed a peculiar interplay between subject and creator. Editor: The realism mixed with surrealism makes the artwork interesting. Are we to see it as an amusing image or a statement of artistic prowess? Curator: It’s Cheval's brand of surrealism; the touch of humour acts as a lens to reveal some deep philosophical inquiry. The painting invites a feeling; this feeling prompts us to inquire further, asking ourselves what creativity truly is. Does one need inspiration, or just pure genius? Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way. Seeing art not as answers but starting points to think for oneself… it really puts a fresh perspective on things. Curator: Exactly! I guess in that light, every brushstroke could become a tiny philosophy class in its own right.