La Baiser, 2026

Kristina Mallen  

This sensory, emotional, and abstract work is a deeply personal exploration of intimacy and human connection. With this painting, I wanted to capture not just the physical act, but the invisible electrical current that runs between two people in a single, perfect moment.

Using an expressive, monochrome palette with a single, searing pop of scarlet, I strip the moment down to its absolute emotional core. It is not just about two figures; it's about a feeling—the profound closeness, the shared breath, the sense of the world dissolving around you.

In this piece, you see a dual portrait rendered in my signature dramatic, gestural brushwork. It's a study in contrast: the soft silhouette of one profile with its iconic crimson lips, juxtaposed against the shadowed, powerful presence of the other. We don't see their whole faces, only the points of contact and the space they share. The composition is held together by a single, pulsing red line—an arterial ribbon that symbolizes both an emotional bond and a physical, passionate attachment. It's a minimalist, yet visceral meditation on longing, affection, and the explosive energy of a silent embrace.