Sea of Marmara 2019

Andrey Remnev made this painting, Sea of Marmara, and it’s got this strange, dreamy quality, right? Like a Renaissance painting slipped into a surrealist daydream. The way he builds up the surface is fascinating; there's this smooth, almost eggshell finish, but then you get these little textural surprises. Take the dress, for example. It’s painted to look like it is constructed from tiny scales, which are built up with these tiny brushstrokes. Each one is deliberate and somehow obsessive! I’m really drawn to the color palette – muted oranges, creams, and then BAM! Those dark red crabs lining the curtain and dress. They’re like a little chorus line, and their placement feels so deliberate, creating this rhythm across the whole piece. You get the feeling of a pre-Raphaelite painting interrupted by Philip Guston. This tension, between the classical and the weird, is where the painting really lives. It’s this conversation between control and a kind of wild, creeping energy. That’s painting for you!