Tea 2020

Salman Toor painted ‘Tea’ using oil on board, and the first thing that strikes you is the sheer greenness of it all. It's a murky, almost unsettling colour, which feels very deliberate. Artmaking is a process of layering and building, and Toor’s approach here seems to reveal and revel in that. The paint is applied in visible, almost frantic strokes, especially in the background. It's not about hiding the labor; it's about the act of painting itself. Look at the figure standing to the right; the way the green is scumbled over what looks like a pale flesh tone creates a ghostly, ethereal quality. It's as though he's both there and not there. Toor’s painting reminds me of early Édouard Vuillard, in its claustrophobic interior settings and the feeling of unspoken narratives. But where Vuillard is muted and melancholic, Toor brings a contemporary sensibility, a sense of unease that resonates with our times. There's no easy reading here, just a series of layered impressions that invite you to get lost in the conversation.