Show Business 

Vincent Xeus's painting, *Show Business,* presents us with a scene teeming with figures rendered in a flurry of brushstrokes. The suit, an emblem of modernity, appears repeatedly, linking these characters, yet the faces—our primary tool for connection—remain elusive, obscured by the artist’s vigorous application of paint. Note the figure in the center. Her upward gaze mirrors those found in countless depictions of saints or madonnas, hinting at a transcendent quality. But here, the expression reads as detached, even melancholic. This reminds me of the recurring motif of the "ecstatic nymph" I have observed across Renaissance painting – a figure caught between worldly and divine realms. But Xeus’s woman, surrounded by the dark suits, seems trapped in a more mundane reality. The performance of self, the fleeting nature of identity, and the theatricality of social interactions – all coalesce in this contemporary vision. It's a stark reminder of how symbols evolve, and how we continually reinterpret them to reflect our ever-changing human experience.