La Veille

2025, acrylic on canvas, 80x120cm

This painting captures a state of constant alertness. Not calm observation, but attention shaped by experience. The gaze is not open to the world, but focused. It watches. It evaluates. It holds a boundary.

The fragmented form of the face feels solid, almost impenetrable. Geometry is not decoration here, but defense. Sharp lines separate individual planes in the same way an inner world learns to separate what is safe from what is no longer. The palette remains restrained and controlled. Every accent carries intention and weight.

The eyes form the center of the painting. They are not threatening, but they do not turn away. They offer neither comfort nor reassurance. They are present. Prepared. They carry the knowledge of a world in which openness once came at too high a cost.

La Veille is not an image of wisdom, but of awareness. Of a state in which sensitivity has not been lost, but protected. Not to withdraw from the world, but to remain standing. And to see.