Horse Forms Study

In Horse Forms Study, Alvi Siren explores the horse as a subject of movement, structure, and painterly construction. Four horse heads occupy the canvas in close formation, each appearing at a different stage of development. The composition feels open and process-led, revealing the artist’s search for form through line, colour, and gesture.

The right-hand horse is the most fully developed, painted in rich browns, ochres, greys, and warm orange tones. Its elongated head turns downward across the composition, with dark contours defining the muzzle, eye, neck, and mane. The weight of this form anchors the painting, giving the study a strong visual presence.

At the centre, a blue horse form emerges in pale turquoise, sky blue, and deeper cobalt. This figure is less resolved, its head and neck suggested through sweeping outlines and translucent passages of paint. To the left, a brown horse head is rendered with greater looseness, built from sketch-like marks, exposed canvas, and gestural strokes that reveal the underlying drawing process.

A fourth pale horse head appears lower in the composition, partially formed through white, soft pink, blue, and reddish-brown marks. This lighter form adds another layer to the study, suggesting overlapping bodies, shifting viewpoints, or successive attempts to find the equine structure on the canvas.

Alvi’s brushwork is direct and exploratory throughout. Thin vertical drips, open white ground, rough outlines, and layered marks make the act of construction visible. Rather than concealing process, the painting foregrounds it, allowing the viewer to see how the horse forms are found, adjusted, and built across the surface.

As a study, Horse Forms Study becomes an investigation of equine presence in progress. Through unfinished passages, contrasting colour, and expressive line, Alvi Siren captures the horse not as a fixed image, but as a form taking shape – powerful, fluid, and alive with painterly movement.