The blue chairs II 1976

Curator: The piece before us, titled "The Blue Chairs II," was completed in 1976 by Panayiotis Tetsis. There’s a beautiful economy to his forms here. Editor: The dominant impression, I think, is its melancholic atmosphere—even before one knows the title points towards "blueness." I get this sense of waiting, a suspended moment… Curator: Indeed, the cool palette creates a feeling of solitude, which could be linked to a potent cultural symbol. Chairs often represent gatherings, discussions, society itself… These are stark, singular. Perhaps signifying absence. Also, consider the cultural symbolism connected with coffee, and in many respects, how modern society has progressed. Editor: I’m also immediately struck by how thickly he’s laid on the acrylic paint – almost impasto in places. You can see the texture and how he must have worked the surface. Do we know where it was created or what might have spurred this particular vision? Was acrylic paint common or a choice that stood out in the time? Curator: Acrylic use was still gaining momentum in painting, offering different textural and drying capabilities. I perceive symbolic possibilities embedded within. Could this speak to isolation brought through rapidly changing means and modes of consumption? Editor: I suppose my eye drifts more directly to questions of labour, where the actual artistic endeavor is highlighted as an almost manufactured object. Perhaps this piece functions more literally than metaphorically – how "authentic" can "modern art" really be with this newer material? Curator: Both aspects may be simultaneously present. The way Tetsis worked with material could offer an emotional dimension to the narrative here, a modern reinterpretation of a simple human experience. He transforms basic shapes of chairs and mugs into cultural markers that reveal collective moods or a moment of time. Editor: I like that thought! The materiality allows us to understand it's both about craft *and* more than craft; something real is being reflected beyond the objects portrayed, making us question all layers, material and emotive. Curator: The symbols invite you to project, and in a sense, the blue color casts its aura—to create emotional resonance beyond merely its construction. Editor: And maybe that’s why these 'Blue Chairs' remain captivating decades after their making—the combination of tangible process and elusive meaning is rather resonant.