'Things oscillate. The world is a paradox. When paint is laid down it is new but then it stays the same, a still image. The painter is an honest interloper [just] trying to be … useful.' —Max Prus
With much of Prus’ work inspired by the artist’s travels, the Boat Close to Como Falls is no exception. Painted during his time at the Malevich Art Residency in Lake Como, the present work is largely a product of the artist’s ethnographic approach to observation and a fascination with the unique aura of individual spaces. Known for its unparalleled beauty, Lake Como has attracted thinkers and creatives for hundreds of years, having been a destination for Thomas Mann and Friedrich Nietzsche alike. Prus’ in-situ practice allows him to absorb the distinctive atmosphere of his surroundings straight onto his canvas. He sets up temporary studios, a portable palette and paint box as his staple accessories. Convinced that sometimes the most trivial of scenes are the ones that inspire the highest degree of emotion, Prus sees the role of the artist as that of an immortalising agent: ‘Paint is sanctified onto a flat surface, transmuted into an image, where it will be preserved, cherished, hated, loved, protected for years to come. It will just exist, be there.’i With an almost scientific approach to the material qualities of paint, he sees the painterly process as a way of overcoming the emptiness of the canvas, the abyss that Nietzsche had warned, is looking right back at us. In Prus’ own words, ‘the abyss [is] turned inside out. Safe, reassuring.’ii
Max Prus holds a postgraduate degree from the Royal Academy Schools, his works having been widely exhibited across England and the US. He has completed several artist residencies, among others, the above-mentioned Malevich Residency in Lake Como (2021), the Dover Arts Club Drawing Room Residency in London (2020), the Art Students League of New York Residency (2016), The Sewon Art Space Residency in Indonesia (2015) and the La Générale Residency in Paris (2015).
