Birthday 2009

Andrey Remnev made this painting, Birthday, at an unknown date and with an unknown medium. I'm struck by the smooth finish and the way the paint is applied so evenly, almost like a fresco. The dress, or is it a curtain?, is this amazing ochre color, and the way the figures are painted on it reminds me of a tapestry or some kind of medieval banner. What I love about it is how the material quality of the paint is denied, it almost disappears. Look at the little figures at the bottom of the dress - it's like they are characters in a play, or maybe memories floating to the surface. The threads connecting them to the squares up top seem to imply the passage of time. There's something so dreamlike and ambiguous about this piece. It reminds me of Balthus, another painter who loved to play with perspective and create these strange, unsettling scenes. It invites us to bring our own experiences and make up our own stories, and that’s the beauty of art, isn't it?