Winter Window 2001

Ivan Eyre made this square painting called Winter Window, using oil on board, but when? Who knows? Take a look at the surface – it’s smooth, almost slick, with an all-over evenness in the application. The color palette is muted: blues, grays, and browns. You can see these tiny, meticulous brushstrokes, which create a kind of atmospheric haze, particularly in the wintery landscape viewed through the window. I am intrigued by the painting within the painting, of a blue figure and a white dog. There is something both eerie and inviting in this intimate interior scene. For me, this echoes the work of Vilhelm Hammershøi. Both artists evoke a sense of quiet contemplation and interiority, even as they leave so much unsaid. Both invite you to linger and imagine, and the magic of painting lies in its ability to hold these multiple possibilities.