Ukrainian Alphabet 2011

Pavlo Makov made "Ukrainian Alphabet" using a drawing technique that is intricate, almost architectural. You can see how he builds form with delicate lines and a limited palette of blacks, whites, and reds. The mark-making is very controlled, and repetitive, which makes me think about the nature of artmaking as a process of layering and accumulation. The texture of the piece isn't something you can physically touch, but it’s all there in the visual: the grainy feel of the ink on paper, the contrast between the smooth red lines and the rough, cross-hatched boxes. Look at the way he renders each individual box, how each is slightly different from the last, with varying degrees of shadow and light. It’s like he’s built each letter from scratch, each with its own character and personality. This work reminds me a little bit of Sol LeWitt’s modular structures; both artists use repetition and geometric forms to create complex, almost infinite patterns. But where LeWitt is cool and detached, Makov feels more personal, more human. Art is always a conversation, and it’s a conversation without a full stop, which is how it should be.