The Winner Takes It All 2017

Editor: "The Winner Takes It All," an acrylic on canvas piece by Michael Cheval from 2017, it’s...bizarre! I mean, the figures look so realistic, yet they’re dancing on this strange, spiky sphere. What do you see in this piece, from a formal perspective? Curator: The artist juxtaposes realism with surrealism, doesn't he? I note the clear articulation of line creating well-defined forms. Look at the couple’s attire—the weight of the armour against the flowing skirt. The artist masterfully uses contrast, doesn't he, creating a clear differentiation in texture to evoke an emotive response? Does the implied stability of the solid clothing jar against the precarity of the dancing stage? Editor: Definitely! I see the way those lines of the Tower of Babel design fall. The building literally looks like the woman's skirt in the center, flowing down and then the lines splaying to give it more breadth near the bottom! Curator: Note Cheval’s precise command of colour, particularly the use of analogous harmonies, for example, red, orange and yellow shades. Look at the modulation of the armour; do you observe how the tonality models three-dimensional space and the interplay between dark and light creating emphasis. It appears that each colour accentuates the one adjacent to it. What feeling does that arrangement create for you? Editor: It creates such a striking image with a nice balance and hierarchy that feels calm despite the spiky edges of the sphere. What does that tell us, in a formal sense? Curator: It directs the viewer to reflect on the interplay between fantasy and realism, thereby constructing its core narrative on these tensions. Ultimately, the piece provokes dialogue through form. Editor: This exercise really enhanced my understanding of Cheval’s complex arrangement here; I might add the use of analogous colours is something to return to in my practice.