Cloud 2005

Andrey Remnev made this painting, “Cloud,” with what looks like oil paint. I can imagine the artist painting this in layers, slowly building up this figure of a regal woman. She is wearing a large blue dress and the forms have an almost geometric, pattern-like quality, yet she is so lifelike. The dress, with its exaggerated sleeves and embellishments, looks like it could be inspired by historical costume. The flowers that frame her face, their branches reaching out like arms, create a natural, organic contrast to the woman’s rigid pose. I wonder, what was Remnev thinking? Is it a portrait of someone real or imagined? The details make her feel so present, yet the title suggests something ethereal and dreamlike. The contrast between the solid form of the figure and the fleeting quality of the flowers feels like a metaphor for life itself, so concrete but ultimately transient. All artists, like Andrey Remnev, continue this great conversation across time!