Cloud 2005

Andrey Remnev painted "Cloud" with oils, and the smooth, dreamy quality of the medium is crucial to understanding the piece. The colours are muted, almost desaturated, giving the painting a vintage feel. The brushstrokes are blended to an almost ethereal quality - Remnev’s handling of the oil paint makes it look less like a painting and more like a carefully constructed dream. Look closely, and you can see how the pearls adorning her gown are individually rendered, each a tiny sphere of light and shadow. It’s this level of detail that draws you into the painting's world. The whole piece is rendered in this way, but for me, it's the contrast between the bold construction of the costume and the tender vulnerability of the face that is most compelling. Remnev's work shares a symbolic quality with the surrealists, like De Chirico, yet retains a very different, and very modern sensibility. It's a conversation about beauty, identity, and the power of art to create alternative realities.