Artist: Monique Sakellarios
Title: Bluer Than Blue
Medium: Oil on aluminum panel
Dimensions: 7" × 5"
Style: Contemporary abstract with expressive, lyrical, and atmospheric qualities
Palette: Deep cobalt, midnight blue, indigo, ochre gold, copper, mint green, chartreuse, silver-white, and soft peach
Key Features: Reflective aluminum surface, luminous glazed color, layered impasto, and hand-incised sgraffito linework
Bluer Than Blue marks a compelling departure from Monique Sakellarios’s traditional landscape practice, presenting an intimate abstract work rich with movement, luminosity, and physical texture. Painted in oil on a reflective aluminum panel, this miniature composition transforms a small 7" × 5" format into a concentrated field of color, energy, and depth.
Royal blues, indigo, cobalt, and midnight tones gather along a strong vertical axis, pulling the eye into an oceanic, atmospheric core. Around this central intensity, molten gold, copper, pale silver, soft peach, mint green, and chartreuse create a dynamic counterpoint—balancing warmth and coolness, density and air, stillness and motion.
The reflective aluminum surface plays an essential role in the work’s presence. Thin glazes allow light to move through the paint and rebound from beneath, while thicker impasto passages rise forward with tactile force. The result is a painting that shifts subtly as the viewer changes position, revealing new glints, textures, and tonal transitions.
One of the painting’s most striking features is Sakellarios’s tactile sgraffito mark-making. Crisp white incised lines cut through the upper-right field, introducing a calligraphic rhythm that suggests wind, soundwaves, or motion across the panel. These marks give the piece a sense of immediacy and reveal the artist’s hand in a direct, physical way.
Compact yet visually powerful, Bluer Than Blue is ideal for collectors seeking a distinctive contemporary abstract work with jewel-like color, expressive surface texture, and strong display versatility. Its small scale makes it especially suitable for a curated shelf, an intimate wall arrangement, a gallery grouping, or a private collection where a concentrated burst of color can command attention.
Collector Note
This work offers the intensity of a larger abstract painting in a refined miniature format. Its reflective support, rich blue structure, and luminous metallic contrasts make it a memorable choice for collectors who value experimentation, texture, and works that reward close viewing.
Inventory Status: Available for purchase online or in the gallery.
Shipping / Pickup: Shipping is available, with items securely packaged in professional archival materials, insured, and shipped globally; complimentary local pickup is also available at our 23 North Main Street gallery.
