Summer Queen 2019

Editor: Jana Brike's "Summer Queen," painted in 2019 using oil paints, offers a rather whimsical portrait. The cherries and blossoms create such a strong sense of summer, but also one of a very feminine portrait. How do you interpret this work? Curator: It's a compelling image that evokes both a classical and contemporary sensibility. Beyond the surface-level aesthetics, I see a nuanced commentary on identity and the commodification of the female form within romanticized visions of nature. Think of how fruit, flowers, and even the "butterfly earring" historically serve as symbols of fleeting beauty, innocence, and female sexuality within patriarchal structures. Editor: So, the artist is almost subverting that symbolism? Curator: Potentially. By literally adorning her subject with these tropes, is Brike perhaps highlighting the artificiality of these constructs? Is she reclaiming these symbols by placing them within the context of a portrait of this freckled, "common" young woman? It invites us to question how female identity is constructed and consumed. The model, if you will, seems indifferent to our gaze, forcing us to consider what expectations we might project upon her. Editor: I see what you mean. The woman seems so ordinary but is surrounded by such unnatural and unrealistic symbolism, I had missed that until you pointed that out. Curator: Exactly. What might the title suggest when considered in relation to these observations? The idea of "Summer Queen" presents a similar problem. Are we elevating a real woman to an idealized, perhaps unattainable, status? And for what purpose? Editor: It’s definitely more complex than just a pretty portrait. Now, when I look, I feel that this artwork is questioning everything I would think of it. Curator: And that, perhaps, is precisely the point. Art at its best is often a provocation and disruption.