Angel Of Florence 2018

Curator: Michael Cheval created this striking acrylic painting, "Angel of Florence," in 2018. Editor: It certainly grabs your attention! The first thing that strikes me is the contrast – the warm hues of the city below juxtaposed against the cool tones and ethereal figures above. Curator: Cheval is working within a surrealist tradition here, layering imagery to construct a narrative that plays with history and representation. Look how he positions the angel, a powerful, feminized figure of creativity, above the Florentine cityscape. The inclusion of the phonograph feels deliberately anachronistic too. Editor: Exactly. It’s as though he's intentionally messing with temporality. Consider the craft—the physical layering of paint to give that swirling effect in the 'sky' where he almost embeds all those iconic, white marble sculptures, like so many material ancestors looming above the city. And I love that he also inserts paintings in that ethereal part. Curator: The gaze of the angel really draws me in. It subverts typical patriarchal artistic representations; her direct address shifts the power dynamics, encouraging a reconsideration of how we historically engage with idealized feminine forms. She challenges viewers to consider a more feminist interpretation of the past by playing the music with a violin instead of accepting patriarchal constraints. Editor: Yes! This brings into focus questions around not just the who, but how we record history. The violin playing creates an interesting sound-related element. Its sonic attributes would be really nice with some sounds for visually impaired visitors of the museum to offer some additional content by focusing their understanding of the art through music. Curator: This is about more than just visual storytelling; it's about inviting us to actively reshape narratives through a dialogue between past and present. And it has to go together. Because Florence is never alone. As art lovers and connoisseurs of this cultural imagery, it's always alongside. The city is so powerful and with such great historical resonance. It's something alive and powerful. Editor: I agree. For me, focusing on his surreal, fantasy-art elements brings to mind that the power of history is literally constructed. Cheval uses the angel to emphasize a link between artistic lineage and the possibility of an active cultural evolution within the tradition. The power of making is very potent here, using what already exists in this narrative-centered framework. Curator: Indeed. It provokes important questions regarding art's capacity to reimagine, reclaim, and redefine culture. Editor: It’s definitely a multi-layered experience, both materially and conceptually, a powerful example of contemporary surrealism.