The subtle modulation of colors and the overlapping contours of classical forms in Serge Charchoune’s Still Life in Gray are evidence of the artist’s brief but profound immersion in Purism. Begun in 1918 by the painter Amédée Ozenfant and the architect Le Corbusier, the Purist movement sought to develop a rational and universal aesthetic that was free of embellishment. Charchoune met Ozenfant in 1927 in Paris. Deeply inspired by Purism’s simplicity and balance, Charchoune invested the next two years of his artistic production in creating still lifes like this one. In these works, he harmonized straight and curved forms on stable axes, while deploying a paintbrush and knife to create variations in surface and depth within a neutral palette.