Signals 

Curator: Nigel Van Wieck's piece, seemingly titled "Signals," immediately brings to mind isolation. Editor: Yeah, totally. Subway loneliness is practically its own genre at this point. It hits you right in the gut. Like, are these people even connected? Or are they just ghosts waiting for their train? Curator: The verticality of the columns certainly underscores a feeling of confinement, doesn't it? Notice how Van Wieck uses those dark blues and grays to frame the figures. The woman on the left, holding what appears to be a mask or sheet of paper...her obscured face becomes a focal point. Editor: Totally! It’s like, are we supposed to *see* her? And the other guy…the muted colors kinda wash him out, like he’s already faded into the background of the city. Curator: Precisely. Van Wieck seems very invested in the geometry. The firm lines against the amorphous shapes, combined with his subdued palette… Editor: Amorphous is the word. Like we are seeing them through a foggy lens. They are anonymous souls and they are ALL OF US, trapped in transit between destinations unknown. What do you call that genre, again? Curator: If we understand the artist as exploring realism through figuration, the architectural setting here plays a key role in that tension. Look at the composition and how each element exists in visual relation. Even the concrete-hued figures! Editor: Art speak aside… this could be a metaphor for something. The woman hiding, the man spaced-out. Maybe "Signals" is about hidden messages? The train never coming…. Curator: An interesting idea. The symbolism is elusive but poignant. But I believe in art as autonomous. Independent from needing metaphor! In this instance, I look simply at his deliberate choices in structuring the composition of the canvas. Editor: For me, though, it's a visual poem about urban anomie. We are always waiting... and our faces are usually hidden in our phones or books! So yeah, makes total sense! Curator: An astute observation, in closing. Indeed. Editor: Later!