Façades Avec Lointain 2011

Patrick Pietropoli made this urban scene, Façades Avec Lointain, with visible brushstrokes that capture the muted tones of the city buildings. You can almost feel the artist moving and shifting, trying to capture a moment in time. I imagine Pietropoli, brush in hand, contemplating the play of light and shadow on these buildings, thinking about Hopper, maybe, or Morandi. See how the paint is applied thinly in some areas, allowing the texture of the canvas to peek through. The grays, whites, and browns are mixed to create a hazy atmosphere. There's a particular stroke of ochre, like a flash, that animates the whole scene. It reminds me that artists are always in conversation with each other, borrowing and building upon ideas across time. Painting is this embodied expression, always open to interpretation, never fixed, or definitive.