Scorpio 2019

Editor: We're looking at "Scorpio," a 2019 piece by Camilla d'Errico. The work strikes me as whimsical yet unsettling. The color palette is soft, but the melting effect at the bottom creates a sense of unease. What compositional elements stand out to you? Curator: The bilateral symmetry of the face, bisected into heterochromatic eyes—one green, one blue—immediately grabs attention. Notice how this symmetry contrasts with the asymmetrical placement of the scorpion and the cascade of pigment at the base. The artist is manipulating the viewer's gaze through strategic deployment of balance and imbalance. The butterflies function as a visual crown, but also punctuate the curvilinear forms of the figure with angular interruptions. Do you observe any dialogue between the organic and the artificial in the painting? Editor: Definitely. The juxtaposition of the natural elements, like the butterflies and the scorpion, with the somewhat artificial rendering of the face and the abstract melting effect. Curator: Precisely. D'Errico employs what we might term ‘controlled chaos’ through the watercolor medium. Note how the colors blend seamlessly at the point of ‘melt’ yet remain distinct entities above it. There is a visual tension in the painting’s textural surfaces, transitioning from skin freckling into stratified runs of color. One may suggest a parallel between these surfaces and the broader dialogue between natural and manufactured constructs of beauty. Does this resonate with you? Editor: Yes, the contrast is hard to miss and really brings that feeling to the fore. The discussion has given me a new perspective on the use of balance and imbalance to draw in the observer. Curator: Indeed, artistic mastery often resides in the deliberate subversion of expectations. We must also note how D'Errico, consciously or unconsciously, calls forth an understanding of ephemerality via the figure's seeming dissolution, thereby enhancing the Scorpio theme with its relationship to transformation and transition.