Chair 

Alekos Kontopoulos painted this ‘Chair’ using watercolor, an object so common it often fades into the background of our lives. Yet, here, the chair is the sole subject. In the background we see a fan, historically a symbol of status and leisure, though somewhat abstracted and unclear, it seems more like a distant memory of decadence. Consider the chair, a seat of authority and rest. It evokes images of thrones and simple stools. The act of sitting, of resting one's weight, is universal. Think of ancient Egyptian pharaohs on their thrones, or the Buddha meditating beneath the Bodhi tree. The form of the chair here, with its curved back, echoes the human form and the feeling of being held. There is also a hint of absence in the vacant chair, reminiscent of Van Gogh's empty chairs, laden with implied narratives of those who once occupied them. This simple image speaks of both presence and absence. A constant cycle of the everyday and the symbolic, resurfacing through the ages.