Sleeping Boy 1972

Louay Kayyali made this piece, "Sleeping Boy," and it’s a real lesson in the magic of a muted palette. There is an incredible sense of artmaking as a process. The blues and grays create a subdued emotional register, and the ochre of the boy’s skin creates a focal point. The paint feels thin, almost like watercolor, allowing the texture of the surface beneath to peek through. Look closely at the way the lines of the floorboards are visible, like a ghostly echo, suggesting the boy is floating, or dreaming. There's something so tender and melancholic about the boy's posture, the way he curls in on himself. It reminds me of Egon Schiele’s drawings, or maybe even some of those early Picassos. It’s this ongoing conversation, across time, about vulnerability, sadness, and the human condition. The box next to him, is it empty, or full of dreams? It embraces ambiguity, and multiple interpretations.