Art” is widely acclaimed as a glittering study of male psychology. Marc, controlling and aggressive, is hurt that Serge could buy the painting without first consulting him. Marc does not understand Serge’s assertion that the Antrios painting has a “system,” that its minimalism builds upon the centuries of art that preceded it. To Marc, Serge is self-deluded, and in acting without Marc’s cultural guidance, he is a traitor. Both view Yvan, the conciliator, as weak. Serge is perhaps the most likable—always the first to admit he might be wrong—but those not familiar with art may find him snooty. Yvan is the character in Art who tries the hardest to reconcile the conflict that has arisen between the three friends over the Antrios painting. And even regarding the friends one has to give Reza the benefit of the doubt as to her premise -- for there is no apparent reason why these three should, in fact, be friends). They in turn question their relationship with a man willing to spend such a large amount of money on something that they find hard pressed to consider 'art.' Reza followed that early success with quite an ambitious endeavor: translating an adaptation of Franz Kafka’s novel The Metamorphosis for Roman Polanski. That work was rewarded in 1988 with a nomination for the Moliere Award for Best Translation. Thereafter, it seems, Reza could do no wrong. Her second play, Winter Crossing, premiered in 1990 and was awarded the Moliere Award for Best Fringe Production; her fourth play, The Unexpected Man, premiered in 1995 and was revived by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1998, for which it was nominated for the BBC Award for Best New Play at the Laurence Olivier Theater Awards. More recently, Reza has written the critically acclaimed Life X 3 (2000) and A Spanish Play (2004), both of which have been produced in theatres throughout Europe, North America, and Australia.

After Yvan's outburst, the friends calm down. The argument wordlessly settles as Serge allows Marc to deface the painting using a blue felt-tip pen. Marc draws a person skiing along one of the white lines on the painting. Serge and Marc agree to attempt to rebuild their friendship, and they begin by washing the pen marks off the painting. Marc asks Serge whether he had known that the ink was washable; Serge replies that he had not. But he had indeed known that, and feels troubled about his lie. Marc concludes by describing his own interpretation of the painting: it is of a man who moves across the canvas and disappears. I have a real sadness when I see the children of immigrants, the young people in the suburbs who were born in France but who don't speak the language at all well. They are choosing to marginalise themselves. This way of speaking in the suburbs is half-Arab, half-French and I don't understand it. It's a way of marking yourself out.Art raises a whole series of unresolved questions about modern art. Serge buys an apparently pure white canvas by a fashionable artist for 200,000 francs. His old chum, Marc, think it’s a piece of hud. Yves, their common friend, tries to reconcile their views and only succeeds in antagonizing both of them. She says she is wary of becoming "a spokesman" for her characters. "We ask writers to have a vision of the world, to take positions. I don't like to do that because I want to be able to write characters who have different takes on life and for them to be convincing."

Art' is not a great play, though it is certainly an actor's play and allows for entertaining stage indulgences.

Es una obra divertida, que da en el clavo mismo cuando escudri��a la amistad. Me vi riéndome a carcajadas en plena madrugada. Sin embargo, el final no es para la risa, es oscuro e inteligente.

Reza then wrote the entire thing in three months. "No method," she says blithely. "I just wrote it." Marc, appalled to hear that Serge had paid two hundred thousand francs, scornfully describes it as "a piece of white shit". Serge argues that the painting, created by a reputable artist, is worth its hefty price, but Marc remains unconvinced. Oury, Antoine (31 August 2020). "Yasmina Reza reçoit le Prix Jonathan Swift 2020". Actualitté . Retrieved 17 September 2022.Serge moves away from the cleanup, dries his hand, and steps forward. He reveals that once he and Marc had finished cleaning the painting and restored it to its pristine white, he asked Marc if Marc had known that felt tip pens were washable before he drew on the Antrios. Marc said he hadn’t, and Serge said he hadn’t either. In reality, though, Serge had known, and so his gesture to Marc is revealed to have been a hollow one. Serge cannot tell Marc that he knew the ink would wash off, but also feels guilty beginning their “trial period” with a lie.

Later, Yvan tells Marc that everything is fine because Serge laughed. However, Marc demands details about their conversation and argues with Yvan about what made Serge laugh. He insists that Serge did not laugh “because his painting is ridiculous,” and that he and Yvan were laughing for different reasons: “you were laughing at the painting and he was laughing to ingratiate himself.” Marc becomes angry when Yvan says that he regards the painting as a work of art with “a system behind it.”

There are a number of clever moments, but there are also loose ends as the play itself balances between classicism and abstraction.