Untitled 

Curator: We're standing before an Untitled painting by Sonaly Gandhi. Editor: Visually striking. The checkered patterning immediately grabs attention. It feels almost oppressive, maybe unsettling, yet oddly playful with its contrasting color fields. Curator: The painting utilizes oil paint and integrates figuration with abstraction. Note the use of checkerboard patterns over nude figures, set against a high-contrast black-and-white geometric background. What do you make of the medium's impact here? Editor: The materiality lends itself well to this geometric construction of the figures. The layering is somewhat visible and creates slight surface variations. But, mainly it enhances the push-and-pull between the flatness of the canvas and the illusion of depth created by the checkered figures. Curator: Indeed, and what of the choice to leave it Untitled? What effect does this intentional open-endedness have, inviting viewers to project meaning based on their cultural understanding? It seems that the intersection of abstraction, the figure, and geometric forms asks for critical inspection beyond mere surface appreciation. Editor: I would argue the abstraction here pushes us back to the surface, focusing on how the repeating square motifs construct and distort our perception of form. There is definitely something subversive at play, maybe addressing rigid structures of perception or challenging traditional representations of the human body. Curator: The artist, Gandhi, may be consciously engaging with and questioning established traditions within art making, referencing both Pop Art's playfulness and more pointedly erotic art, all while embedding this work within her socio-economic landscape. Editor: In closing, viewing the composition—the dynamic push and pull created by its pattern, combined with the figures creates an ambiguous tension. Curator: Yes, ultimately, Gandhi offers not just an artwork but a critical and material examination into image making within contemporary society.