Untitled 

Editor: This unnamed piece by Fernando Calhau, likely a charcoal drawing, intrigues me. It looks like a face, but one made of indentations. The shading is incredible, making it almost feel like you could reach out and touch these grooves. What strikes you most when you look at it? Curator: It breathes with an ethereal strangeness, doesn’t it? To me, it’s less about precise representation and more about the very essence of form, like an archeological dig into the subconscious. Each mark could be a fragment of memory, unearthed and brought to light through Calhau’s process. The line work feels almost meditative, repetitive but subtly varied. Do you find yourself drawn into that repetitive texture? Editor: Definitely. There's a calming rhythm to the lines, yet the indentations disrupt that peace, almost like scars on a landscape. Is that intentional, do you think? Curator: I lean towards the notion that he's interested in revealing, rather than concealing. What are these hidden features? They might reflect a raw, exposed truth – an exploration of vulnerability etched onto paper. The negative space becomes just as significant, a presence in its own right. What story do you imagine being told here? Editor: I’m starting to see it as less about scars and more about impressions, like a face formed from memory, or the absence of one. It is powerful how an artwork with the minimum of the element of art can speak so loudly. Thanks! Curator: Exactly! And perhaps it’s in that absence, in that quietude, that the real resonance lies. It invites us to project, to fill in the blanks with our own narratives, becoming active participants in its unfolding story. I will not look at negative space in art in the same way again.