Bateau Ivre 1948

Serge Charchoune made Bateau Ivre with crayon or pastel, and there's this real sense of immediacy and play. The texture is so present, isn't it? You can almost feel the grain of the paper, the soft drag of the crayon. It's not trying to trick you into thinking it's something else; it's all about the stuff itself. Look at those little dashes of green, like tiny, energetic waves. They're not just describing water; they're making the picture feel alive, vibrating with possibility. And then there’s that dark rectangle – simple and bold – kind of anchoring the whole thing, but also pushing against the flow. It reminds me a bit of Arthur Dove, that same love for abstraction and the physicality of paint. But Charchoune’s got this raw, almost childlike energy. It's a reminder that art doesn't always need to be polished or perfect; sometimes, the best stuff is right there in the process, in the messy, beautiful act of making.