Company 2013

Editor: We’re looking at “Company,” an acrylic painting from 2013 by Zoe Hawk. The piece portrays a group of girls, some running toward and some away from a solitary figure in a red dress. I’m immediately struck by the sense of unease and anticipation, it's as if something momentous is about to occur. What do you see in this work? Curator: The interplay of figures creates a visually dynamic composition, does it not? Consider the geometric structure they form against the painted landscape. Note the juxtaposition of the rigid architectural form against the organic fluidity of the landscape. What, in your estimation, does this contribute to the reading of the painting? Editor: Well, the figures and the architectural element in the foreground feel very grounded, whereas the landscape beyond, especially the painted landscape in the structure, seems almost dreamlike. Perhaps it’s about reality versus artifice? Curator: Indeed. Note how Hawk employs color to create spatial depth, or even flatten that space through subtle tonal shifts in the background planes. Are you attuned to how the artist uses value and saturation to lead our eye from the figures towards the distant landscape? Editor: I am, the brighter red and yellows worn by the girls pop out, and then my eye is drawn to the more muted colors of the painted landscape. It really emphasizes the contrast, drawing focus to the figures in the foreground and creating depth. Curator: Exactly. Do you feel there is a narrative tension in the painting between the two discrete spaces of landscape? Note that this pushes the image toward both abstraction and figuration. The girls themselves may symbolize different positions we occupy relative to one another and relative to this landscape structure. Editor: It’s fascinating how analyzing the visual elements can lead to so many possible interpretations! Thank you for showing me how to see the world through formal qualities. Curator: My pleasure. A closer look at structure reveals unexpected relations between representation and reality. It is by carefully noting these contrasts that we discern an image’s affect.