Exlibris of Natalya Slipchenko 1981

Oleksandr Aksinin made this black ink artwork, "Exlibris of Natalya Slipchenko," with such patience and precision. I can only imagine the slow build-up of marks, like a meditative practice. It’s like the artist is creating a whole world, one tiny mark at a time. You can see these strange, mechanical figures repeated across the surface, each one slightly different, creating this wonderful sense of rhythm and variation. I am thinking about what Aksinin might have been thinking as they made this. The density of the pattern is incredible, demanding that the artist remain rooted in the present moment. It reminds me a little of Hilma af Klint’s drawings, with their esoteric symbols, or even the obsessive detail of outsider art. I am just dreaming and connecting it to other stuff as I look. Artists look, and then respond to each other through time. Aksinin's art invites you to look closely, to get lost in the details, and to find your own meaning within this intricate world.