Room 1989

Oleg Holosiy made 'Room,' with what looks like oil on canvas, creating a boxy interior with two standing figures. I imagine Oleg in his studio, wrestling with these forms, adding layers, scraping back, building up this ochre, brown, and white space. He probably wasn't going for a perfect representation, but more like trying to capture a feeling, an atmosphere. The texture is rough, kind of scratchy, which gives the painting a raw, almost uneasy vibe. Look at the way the figures are rendered, elongated and spectral, they remind me of Giacometti's sculptures, all existential angst and isolation. The gesture of the brushstrokes is frenetic, like he’s trying to get something out, something urgent. You can feel the artist's hand, his energy, in every mark. For me, it's a reminder that painting is always a conversation, an artist talking to other artists across time, picking up where they left off, pushing the medium further.