Symbiosis 2017

Editor: This is Mark Maggiori's "Symbiosis," painted in 2017. It's acrylic on canvas and the way that massive cloud is painted makes me feel so small… like the individual is dwarfed by nature. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: The word "symbiosis" gets me thinking, doesn't it? A harmonious pairing – human and nature. But look closer. That towering cloud—gorgeous yes, but is there a looming threat within that beauty? Maybe the cowboy isn't dwarfed, maybe he’s perfectly placed, part of the panorama, feeling that delicious tension. It's like a storm's brewing but also...something breathtaking is about to happen. Does that make sense? Editor: Totally! It’s like that feeling when a summer storm is rolling in. Bit of dread, bit of awe. Do you think the artist was consciously playing with that tension? Curator: Maggiori lives in the American West, breathes it daily; this is his language. The cloud isn’t just a cloud. For him, it is freighted with meaning – storms, changing times, maybe even the past clashing with the present. What stories do you think those brushstrokes are trying to tell? Editor: It makes you wonder about the cowboy’s story, too. Is he riding *into* the storm, or away from it? Maybe that’s the whole point—ambiguity. He is part of something grand. It feels... hopeful? Curator: Hopeful *and* a little melancholic? I like that tension, the feeling of being wonderfully lost in the vastness. And those muted colors—almost otherworldly. This painting, for me, is an invitation, a nudge to connect to something bigger than myself. Editor: That's a different way to see this than I first considered! Now, I feel drawn into a dialogue with nature's complex narrative. Curator: Precisely. And isn't that where art's real magic lies, planting that first question?