Side Chair (one of a pair) c. 1936

Francisco Alvarez painted this chair, one of a pair, using watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil. Look at the layers of color, the variations in tone, that Alvarez creates with these humble media! You can see he’s working it out, how the light falls, how the wood might feel. The color palette is simple, but so effective, a warm brown for the wood contrasted with the pale straw of the seat. Notice how the brown is not uniform but shifts and deepens to create depth and shadow. Alvarez isn't trying to trick us, but he’s playing with perception. This is a drawing about process and about the pleasure of observation. This reminds me of the quiet intensity of Giorgio Morandi, another artist who found endless inspiration in the mundane. Like Morandi, Alvarez helps us to see the beauty in the everyday. Art is about noticing. It’s an ongoing conversation, and Alvarez has added his voice with this simple, beautiful chair.