Chair by the Archway

A large mid-century painting that presents a loosely abstracted scene of an arched doorway with a simple chair set before it, executed in oil onto canvas.

The subject matter is reduced to essential outlines and shifting planes of colour, creating a sense of suggestion rather than literal depiction.

The style leans towards post-impressionist abstraction, with forms softened and fractured through expressive brushwork. The artist plays with spatial ambiguity – lines of the chair, arch, and surrounding walls overlap and dissolve into one another, giving the composition a dreamlike and fleeting quality.

The colour palette is dominated by cool blues and violets, balanced with soft orange, greens, and hints of coral pinks and yellows. These tones are applied in broad, translucent layers, often broken with linear accents, suggesting both architectural structure and natural surroundings.

The brushstrokes are loose, gestural, and exploratory, with an emphasis on rhythm and energy over precision. The interplay of quick vertical and diagonal strokes with washes of blended colour creates both depth and movement, evoking a meditative interior-exterior space.

This oil on canvas is presented in an elegant gilt frame complemented by an inner band of reddish-brown wood grain that adds warmth and depth. Both painting and frame are in excellent vintage condition.

Size:  70 x 59 cm (including frame)