Cockades of Asclepius 1979

Oleksandr Aksinin made "Cockades of Asclepius" with ink and gouache back in '79. Look at this! You've got these curious green totem-like forms set against a purplish-pink, almost pixelated background. I can imagine Aksinin hovering over this work, carefully building up layers of tiny marks. I think he wanted to capture some kind of in-between state. The colors have such a handmade feel – they are not quite flat but have a gentle hum about them. These ghostly structures are so cool, and so odd. I keep wondering where they might have come from? Aksinin seems like he’s in conversation with so many different fields of art, philosophy, and culture. It’s that cross-pollination that makes art so vital. And it makes me want to get back to my own studio.