Cubist Portrait 2017

Curator: This is Alexander Roitburd’s “Cubist Portrait,” created in 2017. It's an oil painting that beautifully encapsulates the artist’s exploration of modern portraiture through a Cubist lens. Editor: The immediate impact is quite strong; I find it both compelling and slightly unsettling. The fractured planes give a sense of unease, almost as if the sitter is fragmented or trapped within himself. Curator: It’s interesting you say that. Cubism, emerging in the early 20th century, was revolutionary, challenging traditional notions of representation. Roitburd updates this vocabulary in his work, placing it within a contemporary context. Do you think this allows him to deconstruct our understanding of identity as performed and perceived in modern life? Editor: Absolutely. We’re so used to controlled images, meticulously crafted self-representations, especially now, but Cubism shatters that illusion, exposing the underlying instability. It pushes us to consider the layers and facets that form identity, especially a male identity. Curator: One could certainly see this as a response to prevailing expectations of masculinity. Look at the sitter’s composed posture, juxtaposed with the fragmented representation—a powerful contradiction that reflects the pressures and constraints men often face. And I do find compelling the socio-political dimensions in portraits throughout history. What statements can this art style elicit and disrupt? Editor: The choice of rendering him in a Cubist style carries weight. It's almost like Roitburd uses the style as a tool to unveil vulnerabilities and complexities, to challenge the curated images presented through more traditional forms of portraiture. What message is that juxtaposition of man versus image making in our world? Curator: What strikes me, ultimately, is how the artwork opens conversations about the role and social purpose of portraiture itself. What are its functions? Editor: I agree. The "Cubist Portrait" challenges us to actively question constructed realities that art, people, and society may attempt to build and deconstruct on the way. Curator: A provocative question indeed. Editor: Provocative art.