PREVIEW - MONTREUX ART GALLERY (MAG) - NOV.12-16, 2025

The yellow bus - nairobi

In this vibrant scene of urban life, a bright yellow bus becomes a symbol of movement and shared experience in the heart of Nairobi. The scene is what used to be the view from the artist’s father’s business in the bustling Nairobi city centre.

The bright yellow bus dominates the composition with its bold body slicing horizontally through the middle of the canvas like a sunlit artery of the city. The bus is not just a vehicle — in this painting, it becomes the central core of life, depicting daily movement and shared destinies, carrying within it the pulse of people huddled together against the windows. Victoria’s brushwork suggests motion and heat, the air thick is with color and sound.

The composition is densely populated yet balanced, with the eye moving from the expressive faces and textured clothing of the waiting passengers toward the glowing bus — a vessel of light and energy. The use of warm yellows and greens reflects the tropical vibrancy of East Africa, while the loose, impressionistic brushstrokes lend a sense of immediacy and life to the scene.

There is a quiet poetry of the everyday here — a celebration of ordinary encounters made luminous through color and empathy. The artist elevates a routine moment — waiting for transport — into a communal ritual, a tableau of connection, patience, and motion.

THE GARDEN - VILLA CASTAGNOLA

A tranquil lakeside garden, bathed in sunlight and framed by the grandeur of nature. Using a delicate fusion of water colors, the artist allows the vibrant washes of color to dance within fine, expressive outlines in pen and ink. The composition opens onto a lush green foreground, dotted with yellow parasols and reclining chairs, inviting the viewer into a what is seemingly a serene Mediterranean afternoon but it’s Switzerland, the beautiful town of Lugano where the Villa Castagnola overlooks the enchanting beauty of the lake.

In the distance, majestically the mountain rises, its form softened by mist and layered tones of green and blue that evoke both depth and calm. The lake, a ribbon of cobalt and sapphire, reflects the cool serenity of the surrounding landscape, creating a visual counterpoint to the warm hues of the garden. Victoria’s treatment of the lush vegetation — from the slender cypresses to the rounded citrus trees — demonstrates both observation and affection, celebrating the tactile abundance of southern Europe.

The architecture at the painting’s right edge, with its ochre walls and red-tiled roof, adds a human presence that harmonizes with the natural world rather than intruding upon it.

A Room with a view, badrutt’s palace, st. moritz

A “Room with a View, Badrutt’s Palace, St. Moritz”, radiates a serene harmony between nature’s grandeur and human stillness. The artist captures a luminous alpine vista with a sensitivity that balances precision and lyricism. A majestic green mountain rises across a tranquil lake, its slopes rendered in transparent washes of olive, emerald, and slate — tones that shift subtly with the imagined light of afternoon.

The surface of the water, painted in deep turquoise and emerald hues, mirrors the mountain’s calm authority, creating a rhythmic dialogue between reflection and solidity. The fine pen lines lend definition to the trees and contours, while the loose watercolor washes evoke the mountain’s atmospheric depth. In the foreground, a quiet terrace and pathway introduce a human touch, grounding the sweeping view in lived experience.

There is an overall sense of quiet contemplation — an appreciation of stillness, color, and distance. The artist’s gentle hand allows the viewer to feel both the intimacy of observation and the vastness of the Alpine landscape, transforming a simple view from a window into an expression of peace, presence, and awe.