Sunset Lullaby 2019

Curator: Oh, my! Just looking at it gives me this shiver of anticipation and slightly uneasy dreams... It feels deeply theatrical, even a little bit dark and funny. Editor: That’s quite the reaction. Let's delve a little deeper into it then. What we're looking at here is “Sunset Lullaby,” created by Michael Cheval in 2019. The medium he's employed is oil paint. It really throws into stark relief those fantastical and surreal elements in a dream-like scene. Curator: Dream-like is definitely it! I get this strange contrast... between, you know, this romanticized embrace or dance—but with something a little menacing looming nearby. Like the joy is fragile and fleeting. Are those costumes Renaissance inspired, or am I completely off? Editor: You're spot on. Those figures definitely hark back to the Renaissance, and you're quite astute to pick that up. The outfits and exaggerated gestures reference commedia dell'arte archetypes. So, behind these characters, beyond their stage, something elemental, evocative is encroaching... the edge of nature perhaps... is becoming one with humanity's constructs? Curator: That is such a striking aspect, absolutely, particularly how those characters interact on this deserted beach and seem intertwined with what seems like a mind's own landscape. Maybe that says something profound about love, art, nature, where we exist. Are we characters performing for some greater force in nature, maybe our own selves, our internal theatre... the play within the play. It's lovely, isn’t it? A very intimate reflection made public. Editor: Absolutely. And notice the precise execution alongside a playful approach to symbolic narratives; what emotional weight they possess is really something. The painting, I believe, compels a more extended and profound exploration of inner-world theatre, inviting introspection. Curator: So yes, absolutely, thanks, and everyone should have a proper peek before moving on! It might unsettle, intrigue, and engage a bit… just wonderful to explore what we bring to viewing such works. Editor: Couldn't agree more. Perhaps everyone now walks away carrying a snippet of Cheval's reverie or are stirred to engage the subconscious more thoroughly, reflecting back.