Antikvariat in Prague 1994

Maria Bozoky made 'Antikvariat in Prague' with watercolor and ink, and you can almost feel the wateriness of her process. It's like she let the paint do its thing, bleeding and blending, creating soft edges and an overall sense of fluidity. Look closely at the figure in the foreground. Bozoky uses broad washes of color to define her form, allowing the pigment to settle in the creases of her clothing, giving it weight and volume. The color palette is limited, mostly muted grays and greens, but there are pops of red that catch your eye. These little accents feel spontaneous, like afterthoughts that somehow complete the piece. The whole thing reminds me of Bonnard – that same intimacy and domesticity. Just like him, Bozoky seems less concerned with capturing a likeness than with evoking a mood, a feeling. And to me, that’s always the most interesting thing about art – that ability to make us feel something, even if we can’t quite explain why.