Valley of Dreams 1992

Curator: Here we have Eyvind Earle’s "Valley of Dreams," created in 1992, a painting executed with enamel on board. Editor: Well, "dreamy" is right. I feel like I’ve stumbled into a Maxfield Parrish painting after a serious dose of… something. It’s unsettlingly gorgeous, all hyper-real yet strangely flattened. Curator: Earle had a fascinating career trajectory. He was, notably, a background artist for Disney, contributing to films like "Sleeping Beauty." One can certainly see that influence here, that fairytale aesthetic, but taken to a more personal, stylized extreme. Editor: Definitely. The colors are almost artificial, that deep, cobalt blue contrasted with those flaming orange leaves. It's like nature, but pumped full of artifice, almost cynical with that overt romanticism. And what is that light, this unnatural gleam on the treetops? Curator: Earle's landscapes are interesting in how they participate in the Romantic tradition. He found profound beauty in nature, as did his predecessors, but he embraced a stylized, almost graphic, approach, which reflected a mid-century sensibility of streamlined forms and a very Pop Art sensibility for hyper-reality and bold color. Editor: Exactly, I can't help but to also be reminded of something a bit twisted, like gazing into a lovely but deceptive cartoon-world. All those densely packed trees look strangely oppressive rather than inviting. Like it’s too perfect, and therefore not at all real, as if you’re supposed to keep looking and never going near. Curator: I see your point. Earle's control is complete; there’s a certain flattening of perspective and a stark contrast between the layers that makes the space feel less inhabitable and more… symbolic. The romantic elements contrast in his visual order that suggests artificial creation or artifice. It certainly invites the debate of real versus unreal, natural versus not. Editor: Right, it teases the eye. Despite the tranquility, I am left more pensive, thoughtful, feeling strangely suspended. Like… I wouldn't want to spend a long night here. Curator: It is, indeed, thought-provoking. Earle's skill forces us to reassess our relationship with nature and the romantic tradition in art and reflect on how it changes across cultural shifts. It is so meticulously, unnervingly sublime.