Composition bleu au dessin 1980

Here we have ‘Composition bleu au dessin’ by Albert Bitran, a painting where the process feels like a conversation. Look at the top left; the blue has this scrubbed, chalky quality. It’s not just slapped on; it's coaxed, layered, and almost erased in places. You can see the ghost of previous marks, like whispers under the surface. The colors, muted and earthy, are punctuated by that intense blue. It’s like a burst of sky in a muted landscape. The surface has a real physical presence. You can see the texture, the little bumps and valleys where the paint has settled. It’s not a slick, polished surface; it's got tooth. It invites you in, makes you want to touch it, to feel the history of its making. Bitran is playing with form, maybe echoing early Cubism, but with something more raw and intuitive, like early Brice Marden, but more provisional. This piece isn't trying to give you all the answers, and that’s precisely where its power lies.