Armchair 1951

Alekos Kontopoulos made this painting of an armchair with what looks like gouache, or maybe casein, sometime in the mid twentieth century. The paint is applied in opaque layers, blocky and slightly scumbled, giving the surface a tactile quality, so you get this kind of tension between the flatness of the surface and the illusion of depth. I love how the black armrest snakes around the composition, anchoring the whole thing. It's like a bold, graphic gesture, almost like a signature. The color palette is muted but lively, with grays, greens, and oranges creating a sense of warmth and intimacy. The way he simplifies the form, reducing the chair to its essential shapes, reminds me a little of early Diebenkorn. It's like he's not just painting a chair, but trying to capture the feeling of sitting, of being supported and held. You know?