Festive Gathering 1910

Boris Kustodiev made this painting, Festive Gathering, in the early 20th century, and it feels so tactile, almost like you could peel the paint off in little chips. Look at the mix of colours, how they seem to vibrate against each other. It's this vibrancy that captures the excitement of a public holiday. This is a painting about process, about the artist figuring things out as he goes, which is how I like to work. The way he renders the reflections on the water with choppy, broken strokes, as if the whole scene is shivering with energy, I am reminded of a mosaic. It is a flurry of marks and colours, and you can almost smell the food from the stalls. You can tell he cared about the details, like the frills on the dresses or the little Russian flags. Kustodiev, like Chagall, embraces a kind of dreamlike folk art style that feels both familiar and totally unique. It reminds us that art isn't about perfection, but about feeling.