A Smell 2000

Vlada Ralko made 'A Smell' using the traditional medium of paint, but don't let that fool you. There is nothing traditional about this painting! The crude brushstrokes of contrasting pinks and blues and the exaggerated, almost caricatured features invite us to consider what it means to represent emotion, experience, and perhaps even trauma through such a tactile medium. The impasto texture, achieved through the layered application of thick paint, adds to the rawness of the subject, blurring the line between representation and visceral reality. Consider how the labor involved in painting, the physical act of applying paint to canvas, imbues the work with a sense of immediacy and authenticity. With its deliberate mark-making, this piece challenges our perception of art, asking us to question what constitutes skill, value, and meaning in a world oversaturated with images.