I have studied the book Invisible Cities since by Italo Calvino during my architectural degree in 2010, and this painting is part of an ongoing research giving continuation to that study. In Invisible Cities, Calvino describes Zenobia as a city that appears suddenly, not through gradual growth, but as if it were always meant to be—an unexpected bloom. “The Strange Case of the City That Blossomed Overnight” mirrors this idea. It’s a city that disrupts time, not forming gradually but erupting into existence, challenging our expectations of structure. The painting reflects this same tension: it is a fragmentary, transient moment that resists full understanding. Like Zenobia, it isn’t defined by what it is, but by the sensation of its sudden, unexplainable emergence—a city that exists in a space between absence and presence.
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Original, one-of-a-kind abstract painting by Cristine Balarine
- Size: 120x90cm
- Medium: Acrylics and pastels on raw cotton canvas
- Ready to hang: no, ships rolled and needs to be restretched by your local framer*
- Signature: front and verso, also signed certificate
- Year: 2025
- Finish: silky varnish with UV protection
- Shipping: Free shipping worldwide insured and professionally packed rolled in a tube
- Delivery time: min 10 working days (depending on size, customs formalities etc.)
* Shipping extra large formats rolled is safer and more environmentally friendly than shipping ready-to-hang works. The canvas can be easily re-stretched by a framer at your location, which in most cases is even much cheaper than the increased transport costs for a ready-to-hang painting. If you'd like a comparison quote for shipping ready-to-hang please contact me.
- Free returns within 10 days of receipt of the artwork, see T&C for further information.