Just Be Still With Me 2017

Editor: Here we have Carrie Graber's painting, "Just Be Still With Me" from 2017. It’s a pretty striking composition, I'd say. There’s a very large, dark sculpture of what looks like a panther dominating the foreground, and it’s contrasted by the almost unnervingly placid scene of a woman reading in the background. What's your take on it? Curator: Oh, this one hums with a quiet, theatrical tension, doesn't it? It’s a stage set, practically. Graber offers us an intimate scene, and then throws that monumental panther in the mix. Do you notice how that feline's regal stillness kind of *mirrors* the woman’s relaxed pose? It's as if they’re both guarding some shared, unspoken space. I see vulnerability and power all mixed in with the same brush strokes. The gold accessories scattered around…a feeling of modern anxieties floating like flotsam in what seems like a serene stage set. Editor: That's a lovely reading. The word "mirror" is sticking with me. It also feels like there's a voyeuristic quality here; that cat form creates a sense of us observing her. Is that intentional do you think? Curator: Absolutely. The viewer is definitely cast in the role of outsider, peering in. Is the cat an enforcer, a gatekeeper… or is it the quiet strength the woman summons to be still and alone in her world? And what does that glow in the background hide? It begs so many delicious questions, doesn't it? I'm left considering whether quiet observation can become a disruptive force. Editor: Yes, that sense of quiet as powerful disruption is very poignant. The tension and tranquility coexisting like that—it makes the piece really stay with you. Thank you for helping me understand Graber's work in a completely different way. Curator: My pleasure. I learn just as much from our conversations as you do. These echoes—visual and emotional—are what art is about, don't you think? Finding those chords is such a lovely symphony.