Painted in 2022 by Germany-based, Lebanese artist Omar El Lahib, Suspicious Eyed Daydreamer, 2022, is characterized by the intense vibrancy of its colors and sense of unease. The use of warm and cool tertiary colors, such as red-orange and red-violet, evokes vitality and energy, while also expressing a sense of mystery and moodiness. Placing these contrasting colors together, for instance the man’s dark purple coat is juxtaposed with a vibrant cadmium red light wall, adds to the richness of the work and foregrounds its dynamism. The first layer of bright yellow adds to the brightness of the scene, as it peeks through the different shapes on the canvas. The picture’s sense of moodiness and eeriness is further enhanced through the use of short interrupted and circular brushstrokes: the coat appears to swirl with undulated impasto brushstrokes, while the wall is layered through quick vertical swipes to contrast its texture. 

The scene shows us a man at the center who appears to be turning and leaning towards the viewer as he strokes or picks a leaf from the vine creeping up the canvas on his right. In the left background of the painting, from the corner of a windowpane, a mysterious face of a woman with a sinister grin peers at the man, who is seemingly unaware of being observed. The contrast and tension between the two facial expressions are at the core of this snapshot: on the one hand, we have the unsuspecting, relaxed man who is engaging in a private moment of solitude with the surrounding environment, as he stares at the viewer with a glib indifference. On the other hand, a scary and unexpected mischievous grin breaks the normalcy of the whole scene by intentionally intruding on the man’s unawareness. 

 The peering face’s intrusion, almost exaggeratedly smirking, is hard to take too seriously. And it is possible that the man is himself somewhere he ought not to be, given his soft, cheeky smile and the furtive glance to the back. The contraposition of the eerie clandestine observation with the man’s solitary reverie makes the scene tense and mysterious, but nevertheless, witty. 

Signed and dated on back