Encounter 2018

Daria Theodora made this artwork, Encounter, sometime in the 20th century using what looks like digital painting techniques. The colours are muted, and a little psychedelic, like a memory of a dream. There's an improvisational feel to the piece; marks and gestures build up to create a playful composition that merges figuration and abstraction. I keep coming back to the way the figure seems to dissolve into the purple clouds, a reminder of the porous boundaries between ourselves and the world. See how Theodora renders the figure’s cloak with layers of transparent colour. It reminds me of the watercolours of Emil Nolde, who embraced the potential of colour to evoke spiritual and emotional states. Like Theodora, his art operates in the realms of dreams. Ultimately, Theodora's Encounter invites us to embrace the ambiguity and fluidity of experience.