Cubo-Expressionism: In the Mist 2019

Curator: Just to orient our listeners, we're looking at "Cubo-Expressionism: In the Mist," an ink drawing created in 2019 by Alfred Freddy Krupa. The piece dances between abstraction and geometric forms, rendered with a very distinctive linear quality. What are your initial thoughts on it? Editor: I'm struck by the tension. The mist evoked by the gradient background softens these stark white, almost architectural forms. There's a feeling of something emerging, or perhaps dissolving. Curator: Absolutely, I think Krupa's blending of Cubist-inspired geometry with Expressionist emotion speaks volumes about the socio-political landscape, certainly if you consider the rise of new technologies shaping perception during its production. How does the use of just black and white ink enhance this emotional dimension? Editor: Black and white often evokes starkness, decisions being forced upon us. In a way it strips away distraction and asks us to focus on structure, almost primal in its symbolism. This piece, with the "mist", invites meditation or inner quest: the Self emerging or dispersing. What would one "see" there, if one focused one's energy properly? It feels almost Jungian. Curator: It's also fascinating how the limited color palette situates the work within historical contexts of artistic movements, nodding to art historical tropes such as the bold political art during the Weimar Republic in Germany. Its power resided in simplicity and, frequently, stark monochromatic palettes. What sociopolitical interpretations might be gleaned from the overlapping, almost clashing shapes? Editor: Perhaps a fractured reality? It looks almost as though looking through distorted lenses. The contrast is stark enough to hint that the viewer might need new equipment in order to accurately decode the reality that surrounds them: there are clearly elements hidden by mist. As for sociopolitical context, that feels implicit in much 20th and 21st century art: how the rise of industry warps both nature and humankind. This one is especially interesting, precisely because it refuses to take a stance: it only demands of the user the right lenses. Curator: Thank you. In considering its artistic language alongside contemporary themes, it becomes obvious why Alfred Freddy Krupa's practice offers avenues for interpreting our present anxieties. Editor: I wholeheartedly concur. And maybe, it gives a way to perceive hope within these modern anxieties.