Kate Gottgens, Night Garden, 2025

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oil on canvas

140 x 140 cm
55 1/8 x 55 1/8 in
framed: 142 x 142 x 5 cm

In Lanterns, an unsettling atmosphere takes hold—more than just mysterious, the painting carries a sense of unease, an undercurrent of something uncanny. The figures feel ambiguous, their intentions unclear, neither entirely earthly nor fully human. Their skin tones are strange and otherworldly, their forms seeming to float, ghostly and detached.

The interaction between the girl and the cat heightens this eerie quality. The cat steps forward, its right leg extended, while the girl points—there is a silent understanding between them, an almost unnatural obedience. She appears in control of the cat and the scene, yet the nature of that control remains obscure, adding to the painting’s disquieting tension.

Kate often plays with color to disrupt expectations, and here, the palette deepens the strangeness. While the source imagery may have originally been gentle and romantic, the combination of the composition and colors, transforms the painting into something far more uncanny.

Darkening Dusk: Kate Gottgens

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Maruani Mercier

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Kate Gottgens South Africa, b. 1965