Image 1962

This portrait by Vilen Barsky is made using what looks like ink or dark pigment on paper, and it just exudes a certain raw energy. You can see it in the way the marks are made, so direct, almost like the artist is wrestling with the image. I am really drawn to the way he’s handled the negative space around the face, it’s almost like the darkness is trying to swallow the figure. And yet, within that darkness, there’s this delicate web of red and white lines, like the barest whisper of a structure holding it all together. Notice that stark white line defining the nose and then compare it to the mouth where the pigment is rubbed thinly, a very different feel. The whole piece feels like a conversation, a push and pull between control and chaos, between presence and absence. It reminds me of some of the darker portraits by Munch, where the figure is almost consumed by their own inner turmoil. It’s a great reminder that art isn’t just about what you see, but how it makes you feel.