Pym: Mrs Voss, I must congratulate you. This is the bravest opening of the decade.
Voss: Thank you, Mr Pym.
Pym: The emptiness! The courage of the blank surface! Each canvas refuses to impose itself on the viewer.
Voss: I'm glad you noticed.
Pym: And the lighting. It is almost a conversation with the absence of the painter.
Voss: I did the lighting myself.
Pym: Remarkable. I would say that this is not an exhibition of paintings. It is an exhibition of questions.
Voss: That is one way to put it.
Pym: May I ask the title of the series?
Voss: "Six Landscapes", by Ines Moreau.
Pym: Landscapes! Of course. Landscapes of the inner void.
Voss: They were landscapes. They were stolen at midnight. I could not cancel the opening.
Pym: ...Stolen?
Voss: Yes. The police have been very kind, and the insurance company has been very quiet.
Pym: So the emptiness is...
Voss: Missing property.
Pym: Then this is the finest work of the decade.
Voss: The police agree that it is a crime.
Fiction note: All people, places and events in this dialogue are fictional.