Kond 1986

Petros Malayan made this painting, Kond, with what looks like oil or acrylic, and probably a brush, maybe a palette knife, too. There's a real sense of process here, like the artist was building up the image layer by layer, not worrying too much about precision. I love how the colors blend into each other, creating this murky, atmospheric feel. The paint looks thick in places, especially around the buildings, giving them a kind of solidity. It's like the artist was trying to capture the weight and texture of these old structures. Check out the ladder on the left – the way it's rendered with these loose, gestural strokes. It’s both there and not there, a suggestion of a ladder rather than a detailed depiction. Maybe Malayan was influenced by artists like Chaïm Soutine, who also embraced a kind of expressive distortion in their work. Ultimately, I think this painting is about embracing the ambiguity of seeing and the endless possibilities of paint.