Self Portrait 1923

Curator: Alright, let’s take a look at this piece. Here we have George Bouzianis's "Self Portrait" from 1923, a whirlwind of watercolor, ink, and maybe some charcoal too? Editor: Woah. Intense, isn't it? Raw. Feels like he’s captured a moment of pure internal turmoil—like trying to hold onto something slippery. All those lines, the washes… it's anxious energy on paper, I swear! Curator: Absolutely. Bouzianis uses line and form to evoke powerful emotional states, characteristic of Expressionism, with which his work aligns. There's a geometric tension—that strong dark shape dominates the foreground—but also these wisps of color sort of reaching out from behind. Editor: See, I find myself focusing on the face… or lack thereof. Those hollowed-out eyes... it is unnerving. What is that? Curator: He reduces his features to mere suggestions. Look how the washes define a sort of absence more than a presence. Editor: Kinda like when you feel like you're disappearing inside yourself, right? That’s it! A feeling, rather than a literal depiction. It’s Bouzianis going existential, almost. Curator: I see what you mean. The vagueness draws attention to the subjective experience itself, to that feeling of formlessness. Bouzianis frequently portrayed the alienation of the individual... Editor: Oh yeah, it gets that isolation thing for sure! This little glimpse from 1923 manages to speak directly about how we ALL, at some point, kinda fall apart a little bit. I can hear that guy's story! Curator: Precisely! Well, after looking a little closer, this frenetic rendering really lays bare something profound and very vulnerable. Editor: Yeah, no kidding. Makes you want to go look at everything sideways for a while, just to feel more real.