Spring 

Curator: Welcome. Before us is Valentina Remenar’s painting entitled "Spring", executed in acrylic. At first glance, what do you see? Editor: The most immediate impact is how cool everything feels. Blue and green tones create this atmosphere of a serene, maybe even slightly melancholic, fairy-tale world. Curator: The color palette definitely establishes the emotional tone. But the use of symbolic imagery deepens it. The fairy, a recurring figure across folklore, sits within a landscape populated by massive poppies, plants traditionally associated with sleep and dreams. Editor: Yes! I find the fairy itself to be interesting from a representational perspective. The non-binary androgyny is evident in the angular facial structure, which defies many heteronormative traditions for portraying idealized fae figures in paintings. This is an intriguing break in terms of challenging what audiences historically see in figure paintings like these. Curator: Indeed, and the poppies. We can consider the significance of these flowers as a recurring motif in art and culture. From ancient mythologies linking them to sleep and oblivion to their associations with remembrance. Their presence suggests more than just aesthetic beauty; they hint at themes of transformation and hidden realities. Editor: Given the size of the blooms versus the small scale of the fairy, I immediately think of the dynamics of power, scale and perhaps even hidden vulnerability within constructed narratives, challenging dominant societal norms around visibility and invisibility. The setting could represent the fairy's safe space where non-binary characters have more agency. Curator: A compelling idea. This reminds me of parallels with Victorian fairy paintings, which often used the fantastic to indirectly comment on social issues. Are we looking at a modern reinterpretation that embraces contemporary conversations about gender identity and marginalized existence? Editor: I would argue so. By employing the visual language of fantasy, the artist seems to have created space for reflecting upon questions around inclusion. It asks who gets to take up space and at what cost. Curator: Absolutely. I think this blending of established symbols with modern, sensitive portrayals of figures really encapsulates this painting. There is both depth and reflection occurring. Editor: "Spring," at its core, appears as an opportunity to encourage inclusive discussion and thoughtful analysis about diverse subjectivities within a historically biased, and often prejudiced, medium. It is a subtle revolution depicted on canvas.