Desert Geometry

A striking modernist style landscape oil painting, by Swedish artist Eric Elfvén (1921–2008), whose works have been exhibited in public collections including the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Jönköping Museum, Borås Art Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. 

The painting presents a stylised desert architectural scene, rendered with crisp, geometric clarity. A row of low-slung buildings is depicted against a pale, arid sky, their forms distilled into minimalist blocks of colour and shape. Dominating the composition is a tall, rust-toned cylindrical structure – likely a water tower – flanked by low beige and ochre buildings with charcoal roofs. Two cactus-like forms punctuate the left of the frame, introducing a playful yet sparse nod to the desert landscape.

The palette is subdued and sandy: soft ochres, warm beige, muted browns, slate grey, and a whisper of terracotta. The artist has used broad, confident brushstrokes and thickly applied paint, lending texture and tonal variation to the otherwise flat expanses.

The work has a meditative stillness, with the flattened perspective and architectural rhythm evoking a quiet, sun-drenched afternoon in an empty town.