Chrissy 2019

Curator: Right, let’s talk about Monica Ikegwu’s arresting portrait, “Chrissy,” from 2019. The artist captured this woman, well, Chrissy, in paint with incredible realism. Editor: She certainly holds your gaze, doesn’t she? There's something almost Renaissance-like about the soft rendering of her skin against that vibrant background. But it's the elongated vertical format that immediately struck me as a powerful departure. It somehow suggests vulnerability. Curator: The colours, from lilac to scarlet, bleed together like twilight. Ikegwu creates this beautiful tension between softness and precision. I feel she invites you into Chrissy’s own internal experience, beyond what is captured with realism. Editor: Definitely. Red and purple – those are colours associated with royalty, spirituality... They make Chrissy seem like an icon. There’s almost an air of a contemporary secular saint, maybe, watching over us from the digital ether. Does the tilt of her head back have any specific reference? Curator: I wonder about that tilt. It’s just so slight. I interpret it almost as an attempt to break free. A desire for openness, to look past, maybe past pre-conceived expectations? And what of the dark coat that covers half the body? Is there something she conceals in darkness? Editor: The symbolism in this painting runs deeper than at first glance. That subtle defiance, coupled with those gentle eyes... It feels like Ikegwu is giving voice to unspoken stories, almost like fragments of forgotten myths reimagined in a modern context. And you're right to focus on the clothes... Are we really free, when external rules of social dress constrain our freedom? Curator: It’s almost as though, seeing it again now, Chrissy's is saying with a quiet confidence, "I see you too. I'm complex; just like you.” You know, it's exciting, that art can open conversations and challenge preconceptions like that, isn't it? Editor: Absolutely! In this portrait, the convergence of contemporary technique and time-honored symbolic colour leaves us not merely observing, but participating. So really, Chrissy's expression challenges each viewer to recognize those mirrored complexities in their own lives.