Post-Avant Touch
Post-Avant Touch
drawing on paper mounted on cardboard fixed on a found and modified wood subframe
mixed technique: deep yellow gouache, Lefranc & Bourgeois sanguine, Maimeri black acrylic, rosewood stain, Talens karmin gouache
Size: 24 x 30 x 2 cm
Anton Terziev 2025
poor phone quality photo: the author
Courtesy the author
after Avanttouch drawing 2019
Anton Terziev’s Post-Avant Touch invites us into a realm where the physical and the metaphysical converge through a singular, thought-provoking object. At its heart, the drawing presents a striking hybrid: the handle of an artistic brush transforms seamlessly into a human thumb, replacing the traditional bristles with a symbol of touch and dexterity. This unexpected amalgamation immediately places the work within the traditions of Surrealism and Dadaism, where defiance of conventional logic opens a portal to deeper layers of meaning.
In this composition, the familiar becomes extraordinary. The brush handle, typically a tool for expression, is reimagined as a human appendage—suggesting that every stroke of creativity is inherently a tactile, almost spiritual, exploration of the self. The human thumb, emblematic of our capacity for connection and sensation, replaces the hairs of the brush, inviting us to consider art not just as a visual experience but as an act of touching—of engaging with the material world through both physical and emotional sensitivity.
Terziev’s technique, executed in gouache, underscores the immediacy and intensity of this message. The medium’s rich, matte texture reinforces the tactile quality of the work, echoing the theme of sensitivity that runs through the piece. The painting’s flat, vibrant background serves as a canvas for this surreal interplay, grounding the work in the tangible world even as it reaches out to the abstract realms of imagination and spirit.
Moreover, Post-Avant Touch functions as a gentle yet profound commentary on the spiritual bond between materiality and perception. The artwork reminds us that our creative impulses are deeply intertwined with our sense of touch—both in the literal act of handling our tools and in the metaphorical exploration of life’s subtler sensations. Terziev suggests that art is an alchemical process, transmuting the mundane into the mystical, and urging us to embrace the sensory experience as a pathway to higher understanding.
Ultimately, Anton Terziev’s drawing stands as a witty yet profound testament to the enduring power of art to bridge disparate realms. It is a dialogue between the corporeal and the ethereal—a reminder that in every gesture of creation, we touch not only the surface of the material world but also the depths of our own inner landscape.