The Wash, Etude 1953

Petros Malayan created this painting, ‘The Wash, Etude’, and it looks like he built it up with layers of oil paint. There’s a real sense of process here, you can see how the image was constructed. I love how the blue of the wash basin really pops against the more muted tones of the room. Malayan’s brushstrokes are visible, almost like he’s inviting us to trace his movements and feel the physicality of the scene. The way he’s captured the light on the metal kettle is just *chef’s kiss*. It’s like he’s saying, ‘Hey, art is about looking, really looking, at the world around you.’ It reminds me a little bit of Fairfield Porter, that same commitment to representing the everyday. But where Porter’s colours feel very of-this-world, Malayan’s are more muted, but no less vibrant. Ultimately, a painting like this is less about what is being shown and more about how it’s being shown to us. It’s an invitation to slow down, to see the beauty in the mundane.