Image in Khorkom 1936

Curator: Arshile Gorky’s “Image in Khorkom,” an oil painting from 1936, is currently held in a private collection. It’s a fascinating piece that blends organic shapes with figuration and abstraction, placing it firmly within the realm of Surrealism. What’s your immediate reaction to this one? Editor: Whoa, it's like stepping into someone else's dream...or maybe their subconscious? There's something really unnerving, but also beautiful, in how these shapes almost, but don't quite, resolve into something recognizable. Like faces or figures... it is oddly sexy too? Curator: Exactly! Gorky, who was deeply affected by his experiences as an Armenian immigrant, often explored themes of memory and displacement. This piece, created around the time he was exploring his Armenian heritage, suggests a complex intertwining of identity and trauma. What we read as "unresolved" may in fact reflect the historical and cultural fragmentation Gorky's identity embodies. Editor: I can see that. The forms really do twist and turn back on themselves. It's hard to get a grasp on anything solid. What is compelling about this lack of clarity is that there is something I feel I'm SUPPOSED to recognize. My body has a reaction to the biomorphic forms as they hint towards my own biology... Gorky certainly knew his body! Curator: That feeling of unease and longing you're describing can be tied to the broader political landscape of the 1930s, too. Think about the rise of fascism and the looming threat of war. Surrealism as a movement often responded to social upheaval through such visceral, emotional imagery, critiquing rationalism and societal norms. Editor: Yes! You nailed it! It's like all these feelings, fears, bodily experiences swirling around. He's hitting the raw, almost pre-verbal nerves... it is all quite carnal too! Like the primordial soup of life or art itself. It really pulls something out of you, doesn’t it? It wants to communicate at all costs. Curator: It certainly invites a deeper exploration of what it means to be human and, crucially, the narratives we use to define ourselves amidst instability. Editor: Absolutely. "Image in Khorkom" does that, and in ways words just can't grasp. A truly beautiful wrestling match with reality and maybe our nightmares.