Proust: Albertine disparue 1994

Maria Bozoky made "Proust: Albertine disparue" with watercolour on paper. Look at the way she layers those washes of color, how the blues of the sea blend into the figure of the girl. It's like she's emerging from the water, or maybe dissolving back into it. I can imagine Bozoky standing there, brush in hand, trying to capture the fleeting essence of Albertine, that elusive character from Proust's novel. See how the paint is thin, almost transparent in places, allowing the paper to show through? It gives the painting a sense of lightness, of ephemerality, like a memory fading away. And then there's that little splash of red in her necktie – a bold, decisive gesture that anchors the whole composition. Painters are always talking to each other across time, riffing off each other's ideas. Bozoky is in conversation with the Impressionists and the Post-Impressionists, with their interest in capturing the fleeting effects of light and color. Ultimately, painting is all about embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings.