Still life with a cup 1929 - 1930

Mikuláš Galanda made this ‘Still life with a cup’ with a flat, graphic approach to form and colour. The orange shape anchors the whole composition. It feels like a giant slab of something solid, doesn’t it? Around the shape we have a series of flat shapes and rudimentary drawings. The surface of the orange block is matte, and opaque. Look closely and you can see the paper texture coming through, giving it a handmade feel. Galanda's drawing style embraces a certain degree of awkwardness, with lines that waver slightly and shapes that are not quite perfect. The cup on the left is almost childlike in its simplicity, yet this adds to the charm and accessibility of the piece. Galanda’s reductive approach relates to the work of the cubists like Braque, yet he has managed to distill something fresh and highly personal from this tradition. The painting embraces ambiguity, inviting us to bring our own interpretations and associations.