Sphinx 

Curator: Alex Gross' painting, "Sphinx," immediately struck me with its slightly unsettling yet captivating stillness. There's a quiet tension, isn't there? Editor: I'd agree with "stillness." I notice the details: the layering of the patterns on the wall against the striped shirt and velvet sofa feels consciously constructed, almost manufactured. The painting is acrylic on panel. What do you read in the materials chosen by the artist? Curator: Acrylic lends itself to those fine, smooth surfaces, minimizing visible brushstrokes. This emphasizes the hyperreal, doll-like quality of the figure and amplifies her quiet passivity. This work also echoes portraiture traditions by centering on the individual, however in this instance the sitter exudes more an air of disenchantment. Do you see this also? Editor: It speaks to our era’s obsession with artifice and production. Everything is meticulously crafted. But where does genuine feeling reside when every surface is so painstakingly considered? It questions what is authentic versus what is manufactured. Curator: And what's intriguing to me is the sphinx moth perched beside her – it adds a layer of mythology to the representation of femininity. Moths are always drawn to a light that may ultimately kill them. Is the artist signaling that women are prone to their own form of destruction when faced with certain alluring forces? Editor: Interesting that you draw out moth symbolism and mortality, which for me echoes how trends in style or art make their way through culture, influencing the artist and her work. The sphinx is a loaded term, too - think also of the sphinx head ornaments placed on expensive cars: further questioning value and authenticity, in my reading of the work. Curator: So the choice of clothing, in your opinion, and props like the moth – all of this material context – serve to ground this almost allegorical female figure? And there's the cat too, grounding us in something tangible. Editor: Exactly, and while Gross adopts classical composition strategies, there is commentary at play about social dynamics and value judgements made by culture today. Curator: A thought-provoking convergence of artistic craft and commentary, and by subtly highlighting gender issues at play, he gives viewers space to interrogate them in the present-day. Editor: I agree - a careful examination of our obsessions rendered through expert craftsmanship, making it far from just another picture.