Deseo de los Golitsyn 

Curator: Modest Cuixart created this compelling oil painting, titled "Deseo de los Golitsyn," which translates to "Desire of the Golitsyn." It's a fascinating, slightly unsettling figurative portrait. Editor: Yes, unsettling is a good word. The first thing that strikes me is the rawness of the application of the oil paint, and the colors, dark blues and reds, really contribute to a feeling of disquiet. Curator: The rawness certainly echoes the emotional intensity often found within the Expressionist style that Cuixart embraced. One can't help but consider how that connects to the cultural memory and longing the title evokes. The Golitsyn family, with their legacy of power and upheaval… It adds layers. Editor: Look at how Cuixart renders form through broad strokes and blurred edges. The collar, for example, is barely delineated yet distinct. And there is tension between figuration and abstraction, almost dissolving figuration to a feeling. This gives it, for me, the immediate mood of yearning or restrained sorrow. Curator: And it does this specifically using very potent culturally weighted symbols—like the face, tilted downwards in such a classic form of introspection. Editor: Right. Consider, too, how the stark whiteness of the figure's face contrasts with the vibrant colours that define the lower half of their body, creating a compelling duality of both light and shadow. There is also this interesting contrast in textures that is seen in the lower-right aspect of the portrait which only complicates one’s impression of this portrait! Curator: It’s almost as if Cuixart wanted to portray the invisible… that emotional or psychological state that haunts human memory. The red dot just above the subject’s head also comes to mind in the same sense. Editor: Ultimately, Cuixart demonstrates an ability to extract complex aesthetic interactions by playing with formal techniques, texture, colour, and brushstroke alone. It is indeed affecting. Curator: And when understanding symbols of emotional experience or psychological pressure, such expression certainly seems quite clear. The artist seems intent on carrying cultural feelings and longings for generations in his particular form of visual portraiture.