Untitled 

Curator: This piece, titled "Untitled" by Arthur Nísio, immediately gives the impression of a snapshot in time. It feels incredibly real, and even familiar, with the soft application of the plein-air style. Editor: It does. The light has a nostalgic quality, the muted tones remind me of sun-bleached photographs. I'm struck by the recurrent presence of water in it— the horses drinking, the river in the background… water as an element of life, passage, and reflection? Curator: Absolutely, the iconography is strong here. Water holds immense symbolic weight across cultures. But let’s consider Nísio's method: applying oil paint en plein air is not only about capturing light; it's about the physical engagement with the landscape. How does that physicality inform our interpretation? Editor: Inextricably, I think. These are working men, on horseback, stopping to refresh themselves and their animals. The artist has captured an intimate relationship with nature, perhaps one that's slowly disappearing. Their simple hats and working attire suggest the toils of agriculture. The river may be their provider, but I bet it might also represent something more, something beyond a water source. Curator: Indeed. I notice the way the landscape almost blends seamlessly into the figures; there's no clear division, suggesting interdependence. The materials themselves tell a story of labor and rural life. Editor: This work feels to me like a window to simpler times. A yearning, a nostalgia even. A moment frozen, allowing us to remember and perhaps reimagine the human relationship with the natural world. The horse as a partner of labor. And this bucket filled with water – as a symbolic communal fountain, if I may? Curator: Fascinating parallel, how we turn everyday items and elements into symbols of community. I find myself drawn to the actual, visible brushstrokes in contrast, making this "simpler time" one that was really about manual labour and its products, like art made with oil paint. Editor: So, in a way, Arthur Nísio's piece becomes a layered reflection. About labor, landscape, but also the evocative power of images. Curator: Yes, the artist provides this painting, to allow everyone to see the labor of plein air for themselves!