"I Hate This Scarf" | Madrid, Spain

"I Hate This Scarf" | Pastel on Paper | By Susan Cua

“I Hate This Scarf” by Susan Cua is a striking pastel-on-paper composition that captures the visceral intensity and psychological tension of the Spanish bullfighting arena in Madrid, Spain. Rendered in a loose, gestural impressionist style, the work privileges movement, color, and emotional immediacy over precise figuration. The blurred contours of both matador and bull dissolve into sweeping arcs of saturated pigment, evoking not a literal scene but the sensation of motion, danger, and confrontation.

The composition is dominated by a dynamic interplay of reds and greens. The bull, depicted in a vivid, almost incandescent red, surges forward with a sense of raw force, its form partially abstracted into a mass of kinetic energy. In contrast, the matador’s figure, lean, slightly tilted, and cloaked in muted greens and yellows, appears simultaneously poised and precarious. The titular “scarf,” suggested through bold red strokes, becomes both a visual anchor and a symbolic device, embodying provocation, ritual, and the thin boundary between control and chaos of the moment.

Cua’s handling of pastel is particularly noteworthy. Rather than blending to achieve smooth transitions, she employs rapid, layered strokes that leave traces of the artist’s hand visible, reinforcing the immediacy of the moment. The background, a swirling amalgam of cool tones, dissolves spatial clarity and situates the figures within an almost dreamlike vortex. This aligns with the work’s inspiration ...her experiences in Madrid and Málaga—filtered through recollection and emotional resonance.

Conceptually, the painting can be read as an exploration of tension between tradition and personal response. The title itself, “I Hate This Scarf,” introduces an element of critique or ambivalence, perhaps reflecting the sudden discomfort of the matador with the spectacle of bullfighting yes dedicated to its cultural significance. This tension is mirrored visually: the elegance of the matador’s posture contrasts with the violence implied in the bull’s charge, creating a layered narrative that oscillates between beauty and brutality.

Ultimately, Cua’s work transcends mere depiction, offering instead an evocative meditation on movement, memory, and moral complexity. Through abstraction and expressive color, she invites the viewer not simply to witness the scene, but to feel its urgency and contradiction of a moment.

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