Fuchs und Wolf im Brunnen 2019

Siegfried Zademack made this painting of a fox and a wolf in a well, using what looks like oil paint to create a surreal and theatrical space. The most interesting thing to me here is the artist’s use of colour, there’s the realistic palette for the animals and the well, but these are contrasted with the unexpected, almost playful, use of pink and blue for the buckets. I love how the fox is in the blue bucket which creates a kind of mirroring effect with the moon in the water below. The brushstrokes are so smooth that they are almost invisible, which adds to the dreamlike quality of the piece. Zademack does a great job of creating a mysterious space that pulls you in and keeps you wondering, which is what makes art so endlessly fascinating. This kind of illusionistic painting reminds me a little bit of Magritte, but with something more folksy, like a dark children's story. It's a reminder that art doesn't always have to be straightforward, and that sometimes the most powerful works are the ones that leave us with more questions than answers.