Ambroise & Victor Bear (OURS)

320x190cm, Ink on paper

A bear stands on two legs, staring straight ahead. Its massive body, depicted on a scale that reaches from floor to ceiling, creates an overwhelming presence, welcoming visitors. Inside its torso, a series of soft-edged black windows contain fragments of life, large and small, such as bees, plants, mycelia, and cloud-like patterns. The fur on the outside is realistically rendered with the delicate gradations of ink wash (lavis), and the contrast with the black space inside reveals a microcosm folded within a single beast. Another characteristic is that the two artists honed their techniques to the point where they shared the same brushwork, resulting in a seamless, single painting. The bear's gaze, quietly looking back at the viewer, seems to gently question the distance between humans and animals.