Attila Boros – Casablanca
Some images do not just show something, they open a door to another world. Attila Boros ‘ painting Casablanca is just that: it evokes both one of the greatest myths in film history and the inimitable atmosphere of an era. Glancing at the canvas, not only the light of the golden age of cinema shines, but also the eternal dilemmas of human relationships: to let go or to stay, to embrace with passion or to step back with dignity.
The art deco glamour of the work is like a time machine transporting us back to the elegant salons of the mid-20th century – yet it is contemporary because it reinterprets nostalgia, rewriting it with colour and form. The relationship between man and woman is not merely illustrative: the vibrant interplay of proximity and distance is resolved in painterly gestures, where each brushstroke seeks a delicate balance of tension and harmony.
Boros also makes playful use of Cubism: planes disintegrate, slip into each other and then come together in an unexpected order. Here, fragmentation does not express disintegration, but rather the complexity, fragility and strength of the relationship.
Casablanca is thus both a homage and a contemporary statement in its own right. It is an image that does not leave the viewer on the outside: we enter the story both in thought and emotion, as if we were sitting in the dim light of an old café, where every glance decides destinies.