New Star Rising 2017

Jana Brike's painting offers us a portrait in oil against a backdrop of stars and mountains, creating a dreamy, ethereal atmosphere. I can imagine the artist layering thin washes of paint to achieve the luminous quality of the figure and the starlit sky. There's a delicate balance here between the figure's tender vulnerability and the cosmic vastness surrounding them, making me wonder what Brike was thinking about when she made it. The color palette is soft and muted, which enhances the painting's introspective mood. That shooting star on the chest, drawn in what looks like blue marker—is that a sign of hope or a fleeting moment of grace? Looking at Brike's body of work, I see recurring themes of innocence, transformation, and a connection to nature, so the combination of figure and landscape feels like an extension of those ideas. It reminds me of other contemporary figurative painters who explore similar themes of identity and spirituality through a highly personal lens. Artists are always looking at one another, across time, and using what they see to make something new.