Alley at the Sea 1982

Curator: This is Victor Puzyrkov's "Alley at the Sea," painted in 1982. It's an oil painting that invites you right into its sun-drenched lane. Editor: My first thought? It feels like stolen time, like a moment grabbed before a storm. The colors are bright but subdued, and the sky seems heavy. Curator: It does have that slightly melancholic edge, doesn't it? But look at how Puzyrkov captures the light hitting those trees, making the whole scene sparkle. It's as if the air itself is made of tiny, shimmering brushstrokes. Makes you wonder, doesn't it, how a flat surface can feel so…alive? Editor: I’m drawn to how the paint is applied – thick impasto, really – giving everything a tactile, almost rough texture. You can almost feel the heat rising off that road, the way the artist handled that material gives a brutal physicality to an otherwise gentle scene. Was this typical for Puzyrkov at this stage? Curator: He did love that impasto, building layer upon layer. His commitment to the landscape genre is really powerful—he shows nature, the earth, to be this endless source of experimentation with oil paint. Editor: Right. And that little pink figure there, in the dress... seems so inconsequential against the heft of all that greenery. It makes you think about our place within something bigger, almost indifferent to our individual existence, while reminding me of labor practices for fabric productions—so fascinating. Curator: Exactly, we are swallowed by the light! She's strolling along this sun-drenched road, entirely unaware she is participating in the composition of this moment! It really has the character of a perfectly caught summer afternoon. It reminds me a lot of the impressionists who found a whole new way of showing leisure and work as leisure—showing it without needing the accoutrements of money! I really am charmed by its magic. Editor: Ultimately, that push-pull is what makes the artwork compelling. Puzyrkov clearly demonstrates oil’s possibilities while leaving space to explore his vision in material and pictorial dimensions. Curator: Yes, the materiality is undeniable. I am happy we had a little pause here with this special painting.