NARRATOR:
Cubist Sea Shore is an oil painting created by Luis Chan in 1959. It measures approximately forty-one centimetres in height and fifty-one centimetres in width.
On a wooden board, Chan portrays an abstract underwater world using various colour blocks. Arranged with clear borders, these geometric blocks create a three-dimensional effect through the contrast of light and dark hues. Some blocks also feature thin, chalky white line drawings.
Above a central orange block is a stack of geometric shapes. One of them, dark green and near the centre of the painting, features a line drawing of a fish with its mouth agape. Beneath it, rows of wavy lines suggest the fish is leaping out of water. Wavy patterns are scribbled across different blocks, while a series of three triangles at the bottom centre contain a bubble pattern.
The central part of the work is dominated by blocks of yellow, white, and vermillion. These brighter hues stand out against the deep blue and dark green surroundings, which evoke rock formations found in the depths of the sea or inside fish tanks.
The artist’s signature and the year of creation can be found in the lower right corner of the painting.