Untitled (Boat, Karelia) 1972

Petros Malayan made this painting of a boat in Karelia, and what grabs me is its quietness, its devotion to the ordinary. The colors are like muted, mossy greens and yellows, a palette of calm observation. The paint is applied in such a way that you can almost feel the hand of the artist, the strokes thick and deliberate, building up the image layer by layer. Look at how the yellow of the boat stands out against the murky water. It’s not just color; it’s about the physicality of the paint, its texture. There's something very Giorgio Morandi about this, that Italian painter who spent his life depicting bottles. Like him, Malayan seems less interested in the boat itself, and more in the act of seeing. It's like art is about the ongoing exchange of ideas, a conversation across time, embracing ambiguity.