Aisha 1962

Nikola Martinoski made Aisha with oil on canvas, and it's the kind of painting that makes you want to get your hands dirty. It's all about the materiality of paint, and the sheer joy of putting brush to canvas. The surface is alive with texture. Thick, juicy strokes of paint describe the form of the figure, but also seem to exist independently, as pure color and gesture. The colours are bold, but it’s the way they blend, the almost arbitrary daubs of contrasting hues in the figure's dress, that really grabs you. Look at how the strokes around the head and shoulders merge into the background, dissolving the figure into the space around her, like an apparition. Martinoski lets the paint do its thing, embracing happy accidents and unexpected juxtapositions. The result is a painting that feels raw, immediate, and full of life. You might see echoes of someone like Chaim Soutine in his expressive distortion of form and uninhibited use of colour. Ultimately, this piece invites us to embrace the messy, unpredictable nature of art-making. It reminds us that painting is not about control, but about letting go and seeing what happens.