Cannes, Les Allees 1968

Włodzimierz Zakrzewski conjured this painting of Cannes, Les Allees with oil on canvas, but it's the way he's laid down the paint that really grabs me. Look at how the paint is built up, stroke upon stroke, like he's wrestling the scene into existence. There's a real physicality to it. The colors are muted, almost like looking at a memory, but the texture is so present. I can almost feel the weight of each brushstroke. Notice the way the branches reach across the canvas. They're not just trees, they're like a web, holding the whole scene together. Each dab of paint contributes to the overall feeling of being caught between the solidity of the trees and the blur of the background. This reminds me of some of the early impressionists, like Pissarro, who were also trying to capture the fleeting moments of everyday life. But Zakrzewski brings his own raw energy to the process. He’s not just painting a scene, he’s giving us a piece of himself.