Winter 1961

Valerii Lamakh made this painting, Winter, with some kind of oil paint, and look at how he troweled it on! I'm imagining him in the studio with a vision of color, building up these layers and shapes with a palette knife and brush. Look at that big orange arm reaching across the painting, like a bold embrace. What could he be thinking, this artist from Ukraine, while putting down these confident strokes of bright, optimistic color? Is it a figure emerging from a blizzard of blocks? The colors are singing out, reds and oranges popping against the blues and greens, like Matisse gone a little wild, yet each mark feels deliberate, a dance between control and accident. It reminds me of other painters who weren't afraid to get their hands dirty, like Joan Mitchell or maybe Alfred Manessier. We're all inspired by those who came before, aren't we? And it's so inspiring to see Valerii Lamakh add his own voice to the ongoing conversation.