The Lovers 1961

Vilen Barsky made this artwork, The Lovers, with ink on paper. The figures are enmeshed, almost knotted together; the ink is applied in such a way that the lovers seem to rise out of a dark abyss. It’s all grays and blacks – and the light that emerges feels hard-won, like a slow, difficult revelation. I imagine Barsky hunched over this image, thinking about connection and the ways our bodies both bind and liberate us. There’s a rawness to the line that feels immediate, like he’s scratching at something essential. I bet Barsky knew the weight of each stroke. You know, sometimes making art is like bearing witness. And sometimes, it’s about finding a way to make the invisible visible. Barsky is part of a long lineage of artists who have embraced the messy, imperfect, and deeply human act of painting. We are always in conversation with the artists who came before us, wrestling with similar questions, pushing against boundaries, and finding new ways to express the complexities of what it means to be alive.