Female Image. From the Cycle 'Suite, Inspired by Pushkin's Lyrics' 1968

Hryhorii Havrylenko made 'Female Image' as part of a series inspired by Pushkin's poetry, but the image, for me, feels very internal. Look at the way the figure emerges ethereally from the ground. The light palette and gentle hatching suggest a sense of emergence and disappearance, like she might dissolve into mist at any moment. I imagine Havrylenko building up the image slowly, perhaps unsure if it would resolve itself. Those delicate, tentative marks remind me of Agnes Martin’s quiet geometries and almost feel like a memory or dream. See how the figure is present, but also fragile and elusive? The artist’s hand is felt in every stroke, giving the figure a sense of lived experience. It makes you wonder what it might be like to move from the world of poetry to the world of painting and back again. These kinds of conversation between artists across time really inspire me!