The Roofer II 

Editor: Here we have "The Roofer II" by Nigel Van Wieck, looks like oil on canvas, a bird’s-eye view of rooftops. The figures feel oddly staged against the urban landscape. What do you make of this piece? Curator: For me, the fascination lies in how Van Wieck presents labor and leisure. We see a roofer, presumably working, juxtaposed with figures sunbathing. This begs the question, doesn’t it, of the artist’s process in materializing the economic disparity here? Consider the textures - the rough materiality of the rooftop versus the smooth skin of the sunbathers, each meticulously rendered through the application of oil paint. Editor: That’s a good point about the contrasting textures reflecting disparity. So, is it about more than just painting a scene? Curator: Precisely. Look at the very specific use of plein-air technique for a traditionally 'urban' setting, juxtaposing traditional methods and labor in art. What kind of social commentary is embedded within those oil pigments? We have to examine the literal labor it took to construct those very surfaces represented in the piece - and whose labor gets highlighted and whose is rendered nearly invisible? Editor: It's almost like the painting highlights the means of production in an unconventional way, connecting art-making to the everyday toil that goes unseen. I didn’t consider that at first! Curator: Exactly! Thinking through these different kinds of production reframes our perspective on what "Roofer II" means.