Female image 1975

This is a portrait of a woman, made by Hryhorii Havrylenko, and it’s all lines. Look at the way he confidently moves a simple black line to create her form and her features. It feels like a process of discovery. The drawing is all about suggestion, and the background is a kind of loose grid, almost like a window she’s in front of. I love how this grid anchors the figure in space, but also flattens the picture plane, reminding us that it is just lines on paper. Notice the simple flower-like shapes on her dress. They could be flowers, or abstract shapes. This ambiguity adds to the dreamy quality of the piece. It makes me think of Matisse, with his simple lines and focus on form, but there’s also something very personal and raw about Havrylenko’s work. The directness reminds us that art is an ongoing conversation across time.