Walid El Masri spends his time exploring the notion of 'chairs'. He slowly builds up his paintings from a blank canvas to a meaningful entity that captures the moment.
"Sure, you go to school and get a broad exposure to different styles, but the things that stick to you are the things that are similar to the way you already are," El Masri says.
His chairs are depicted from obscure angles; as if they are floating in space or truncated by the canvas's edge. They are rendered with rough and multi- layered contours with a signature emptiness that fills the lower part of the canvas and allows the work to resonate.
The simplicity of the subject enables him explore the more elusive meaning of existence. However, he never draws his chairs from any one chair in life; the form already exists in his head and heart, and emotions become the true subject of the work.
"We like to recognize an artwork, and to know what we see," El Masri says. "The chairs are a continuous project. Yes, you will recognize the subject of a 'chair' but it is not really about that anymore. That's the beauty of painting; I no longer need to explain."
