Valjda Lajos Dotted House, 1936, Iol on Paper, 44,5x50cm 1936

Lajos Vajda's ‘Dotted House’ was made in 1936, using oil on paper. The painting is built up through layers of small, deliberate dots. It gives the impression that the house and its surroundings are not merely depicted, but carefully constructed, almost like a child’s toy built from construction blocks. Up close, you see the physical presence of each dot. These dots vary in color, intensity and size. Look how the edges of the house dissolve into a field of dots. There’s something about this deliberate, almost meditative process that suggests a certain order or rhythm. The dotted technique gives an amazing texture and depth to the entire scene. It's almost as though the house and its surroundings are breathing. It makes me think of the pointillist Seurat, but with a more homespun, folk-art feel. I love how Vajda’s painting exists in this liminal space between representation and abstraction, giving the viewer a sense of freedom, and of possibility.