Alcyonée 1982

René Duvillier made this painting, Alcyonée, with what looks like layered washes of deep blues and blacks. I can really see the process here - the way one layer of paint bleeds into another, creating these soft, almost ghostly forms. The texture is incredible. It feels like looking into water, or maybe through ice. See that concentrated dark patch at the top? The brushstrokes are so delicate there, but also raw. It’s like Duvillier was building up something, and then letting it dissolve back into itself. The paint is so thin in places that the ground seems to peak through which brings a glow from within. It reminds me of a Gerhard Richter abstraction, the way the image seems to appear and disappear at the same time. Ultimately, Duvillier shows us that art is about seeing, unseeing, and seeing again. It's a continuous dialogue between the artist, the materials, and us.