Vivian GREVEN, 2017 Medusa II Medusa II

Vivian Greven’s painting always demands penetrating observation of her counterpart. In her works, we are often confronted relentlessly and directly with a purported face that represents a self-portrait, an alter ego, a mask without eyes or a reference to art or cultural history. Greven enjoys analyzing motifs of interpersonal intimacy, such as an exchange of glances. The eyes are perceived as windows to the soul and provide insight into an individual’s inner world. If they are closed or hidden, the other person appears mask-like, sculptural or even dead. If the gaze disappears, the face seems to be lost or rendered unfamiliar, making it difficult to read feelings and emotions. “Medusa II” is an apt illustration of the significance of such eye contact; according to the Greek myth, anyone who looked Medusa in the eye was turned into stone. 
Medusa, the daughter of two sea divinities, was admired for her beguiling beauty. However, her myth did not have a happy ending, for she was transformed into the terrifying figure her name invokes for us. Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare, turned Medusa into a monster with snakes for hair and glowing eyes when she caught the sea god Poseidon making love to Medusa in her temple – an act tantamount to desecrating the temple. Medus became such a terrifying sight that anyone who looked at her was petrified. 
This story reveals that the face served as a screen for projections even in ancient times. Greven transposes Medusa into the present day, for the artist is concerned with vulnerability or the capacity to be touched in encounters in the broadest sense of the term. The archetypal tale is also about the potentially destructive power of a gaze and what it can trigger when meeting someone.

Vivian Greven (Bonn/GER 1985) studied at the Art Academy in Düsseldorf and in 2016 received a STRABAG Artaward International Recognition Award.