Zócalo Del Duelo: Duelo Con Celular 2018

This image by Beatriz González is all about mourning in the age of the cellphone, rendered with flat color and thick outlines. Look at the red—it’s so bold and flat it almost feels like a protest sign. I can just picture González making this. Maybe she was thinking about how technology mediates our most intimate emotions, even grief? The woman’s face is hidden, her body is turned inward. It’s like she's trying to disappear into her own sorrow. And what about that decorative border? It's a bit like wallpaper, a domestic touch that contrasts with the starkness of the scene. For me, this image resonates with the work of other painters who use simplified forms and bold colors to convey powerful emotions, like maybe some of Paula Modersohn-Becker’s portraits, or even the graphic punch of some pop art. Artists always find ways to reflect the world around them, using whatever materials are at hand. It’s like we're all in a big conversation, riffing off each other across time.