A vintage car faces the open sea, positioned as both vehicle and stage. Champagne glasses rest on its polished surface, untouched. Beneath the bumper, two pairs of shoes remain in the sand — traces of bodies now absent.
 
The composition balances romance with construction. The ocean extends beyond the car’s symmetry, destabilizing the nostalgic gloss of the automobile. The vehicle becomes less a symbol of escape and more an object of display.
 
The license plate reads “Love.” The word functions ambiguously — as declaration, branding, or performance. Is love being lived, remembered, or staged?
 
Turquoise tones unify metal and water, while red accents disrupt the calm, grounding the scene in immediacy. The painting hovers between intimacy and spectacle, between authenticity and aestheticized desire.
 
Rather than narrating a romantic moment, the work examines how closeness is framed — how memory is curated against a horizon.
 
Love here is not dramatic.It is positioned.

Original artwork by Gala Bond
35 ½ x 35 ½ in | 90 x 90 cm
Oil, linen canvas