Untitled 

Editor: Here we have an *Untitled* work by Roger Raveel. It seems to be mixed media, maybe acrylic and oil pastel on canvas, with an actual repurposed window frame attached. There’s something very dreamlike and surreal about the contrast between the abstract painting and the familiar window. What can you tell me about this work? Curator: This combination is particularly fascinating, don't you think? By literally incorporating a window frame, Raveel disrupts the illusionism of painting. We're forced to consider the *process* of looking. Where does the painting begin and the world outside of it end? Notice how the white paint from the window is applied in thin coats on the window structure itself, giving it an aged, almost ghostly feeling. What assumptions are we making, when we see that handmade aesthetic, about the kind of labour or studio practice that went into the construction of the whole assemblage? Editor: I hadn't thought about the window itself as having an applied artistic process. It’s interesting how he’s drawing our attention to the objectness of the window as much as the imagery within it. What about the brushstrokes within the "window" frame – does the energy there give you any sense of place, or a broader setting for his material engagement? Curator: I'm interested in how he transforms a mass-produced item into something unique, using painterly marks that feel gestural and almost improvisational against the window's rigid frame. Are these materials cheap and accessible by design? How can his choices comment on art's role in the everyday? Perhaps his aim is not only to represent an exterior view, but also an interior examination of the self. It's challenging to accept or disregard, the boundaries he's establishing through the framing effect in order to investigate painting as labour or performance. Editor: I see what you mean. Focusing on the *how* and *why* of Raveel’s methods really helps unpack what feels at first like a purely abstract piece and lets us really get behind his work. Curator: Absolutely! It's a great example of how materials and context are vital to understanding art.