Flash Gordon 1980

Boris Vallejo made this Flash Gordon painting using oil paint, and it’s so smooth it feels like you could dive right into that hazy, futuristic landscape. Looking closely, the paint is blended to give this sense of polished perfection, a kind of hyper-realism that almost feels airbrushed. But it's the details that catch my eye, like the way he renders light on the female figure's pink jumpsuit. You can practically feel the fabric against her skin. Vallejo expertly teases out subtle modulations of colour and texture on the various surfaces. This smooth, otherworldly finish is reminiscent of artists like Patrick Nagel, who also worked with idealized forms. Art's a conversation across time, and here, Vallejo speaks to the fantasies we create, always inviting us to dream a little bigger, beyond our everyday.