My original composition for solo piano “The Infinite Threshold” was inspired by the artwork of Melbourne and Hong Kong-based contemporary artist, Szelit Cheung. I performed “The Infinite Threshold” at the Fou Gallery in NYC on April 25, 2026 at a retrospective of Cheung’s work, entitled Flat (2026). I chose one of the defining works of the exhibition, Edge V, to serve as inspiration due to its mysterious symbolism of a simultaneously partially-open and partially-closed door.

Edge V, VI, and Luna, (all part of the same series) as explained in the retrospective's catalog, "are the most representational of the works in the exhibition."(Fou Gallery, Szelit Cheung: Flat Exhibition Catalogue, March 4-April 25 2026). The paintings create a complex dichotomy between the serenity of the soothing color palates, and the mystery of the seemingly uninhabited interiors, lacking any sign of a straight-forward or traditional narrative. In Edge V, we see a door, opened wide enough so that we see glimmers of what exists behind it, but not enough to know for certain what lies beyond. In this otherworldly moment, which Szelit Cheung has captured in Edge V, we, the viewers of his art, are left in a state of uncertainty, maybe of anxiety or anticipation, on the edge of what will happen next when the door opens entirely and all is revealed. One might think that this threshold eventually would be broken, that the door will eventually be opened or shut by unseen hands, or that we ourselves will open or shut it. However, this is a painting, a unique world sprung from the artist’s mind and creativity; the door can never fully be opened or fully closed because the painting is a stationary object and the artist has given birth to a moment frozen eternally in time. Therefore, I think that the door, in a metaphorical sense, cannot be opened or shut, and that we as viewers stand on an Infinite Threshold, an entranceway that one can never cross because it exists as is for eternity, neither fully open nor shut.

My solo piano piece, The Infinite Threshold, explores my own personal interpretation of Edge V through the use of musical metaphors and representation through sound of the dichotomies of light vs. shadow, open vs. closed, and known vs. unknown that I see represented in Szelit Cheung’s art. I specifically explore the concept of infinity as it pertains to the fixed, unchanging, nature of the painting itself. I asked myself, “If the painting, the art, does not change, do we the audience change it through our own experience of it? What does it mean to stand upon a threshold, neither crossing it nor leaving it, neither entering the doorway nor leaving it behind? What is it like to be infinitely stuck at a moment of indecision not moving forward or backwards and how is this different for different people at different times of their lives?”

For some examples of my musical exploration of Edge V, my piano piece The Infinite Threshold opens with the lowest B and the highest B on the instrument with a descending chromatic line in the right hand in the uneven time of 7/4. The low and high B represent the contrast between light and darkness shown prominently in Edge V's color scheme. The chromatic line in the right hand coupled with the uneven time signature creates a feeling of uncertainty, of a door about to be opened, but at the first beat of each new measure of 7/4, it is cut off before it can open fully, representing the frozen partially-open, partially-shut, door in the painting. In a different way, the fluidity and rubato of the first section, from A to B, represents the feeling of being on edge, anticipating what the door will reveal and also the feeling of being suspended in time and space, the idea of an infinite threshold.

In the section from B to H, an unending stream of propulsive rhythm drives us to the climax of the piece. Like the viewer’s anticipation for what is behind the door, the adrenaline rush of being on edge musically builds until we can no longer bear it. At H, we reach the climax and feel as though we found what lies behind the door, but it is only an illusion because we are still stuck at the threshold. At J, every note of the piano is played in massive glissandi, alternating between the white and black keys, which is another reference to the light and dark color scheme of the painting, and the energy winds down until we are returned to the very same low note that we started with, signifying that all is for nothing; that we still never found what lies behind the door. We stand at an infinite threshold. The piece ends on an unresolved chord, signifying the unresolved nature of the painting, the threshold never crossed, representing our inability as humans to cross the threshold of mystery, to know what happens when we cross that door, which could represent the entranceway to life, death, or anything in between.

Notes copyright Theodore Tavi Hein 2026, All Rights Reserved