Fantasy and fugue 2009

Andrey Remnev created this painting, Fantasy and Fugue, with oil on canvas, and, right away, I'm struck by how the piece has been worked. The paint is so smooth, so even. There are no brushstrokes that give the game away. The overall effect feels timeless, like a memory or a dream. And the colours, ochres and reds, really sink in. There’s something about the girl in the foreground that is very striking. She’s in front of the seated man in the wig, and she is playing a flute. Her simple dark dress is almost like a void, making the texture of the other elements, like the man’s coat, stand out all the more. Remnev sets up this whole mood, all subtle and restrained, and it reminds me of Balthus, but quieter, more Russian, somehow. Both artists embrace a similar type of ambiguity that invites endless readings and interpretations.