La Coquette

Haleh Mashian

60 x 60

Mixed media on canvas

A feverish symphony of color and texture, “La Coquette” blurs the line between figuration and abstraction, offering a vision that is both alluring and destabilizing. The seated female figure, barely discernible amid the frenetic brushwork, appears to emerge and dissolve simultaneously, her form interwoven with the fragmented layers of paint that envelop her. She is both present and ephemeral, a spectral presence caught between visibility and erasure.

The canvas pulses with movement, as each impasto stroke fuels an electric sense of restlessness. The explosive palette of reds, pinks, and blues creates a tension between desire, seduction, and the chaotic intensity of perception. Intentional distortions give the impression of an image refracted through the fractured lens of memory or emotion, resisting a fixed interpretation.

At its core, “La Coquette” challenges the viewer’s gaze, urging an engagement beyond the superficial. The figure’s partially obscured expression suggests an enigmatic interiority, defying the traditional passivity of the muse. Instead, she wields agency over her own image, her fragmented form mirroring the fluidity of self and the shifting nature of identity in a world of relentless aesthetic consumption.