Winter Window 2001

This is Ivan Eyre's "Winter Window," a square canvas filled with blues and greys. Imagine the repetitive, almost meditative process of creating that hazy view through the window, built up from tiny dots. I feel a real kinship with Eyre here, thinking about the solitude of the artist, the quiet contemplation involved in painting, as a figure sits, hands clasped, lost in thought, staring out at the wintry landscape. And then there’s the painting within the painting, a more dreamlike and surreal image. It makes me wonder what Eyre was thinking about art-making itself, how it can reflect inner and outer worlds simultaneously. The flatness of those blue and grey surfaces, contrasted with the illusionistic space of the landscape, creates a push and pull effect. It reminds me how all artists are in conversation, borrowing, responding, and reinterpreting what they see, feel, and know.