The parting of Hector and Andromache #1 2010

Curator: Alexander Roitburd's acrylic on canvas from 2010, "The Parting of Hector and Andromache #1," is what we are looking at now. Editor: Well, it's… unsettling, wouldn't you say? The figures are so abstracted, almost grotesque. The darkness surrounding them adds to the heavy feeling. Curator: Indeed. Roitburd's practice sits firmly within the Neo-Expressionist movement, characterized by the intense subjectivity, crude handling of materials, and focus on human figuration that we see here. What can you say about the brushstrokes? Editor: The materiality is quite apparent. The application of acrylic seems almost violent, building texture that amplifies the raw emotion. It’s very gestural, immediate. He makes no attempt to disguise the means of production. The lack of blending seems key to producing an effect. Curator: I agree, and this raw quality really amplifies the mythological narrative. Hector and Andromache's story is traditionally rendered as one of noble love and tragic fate. However, Roitburd complicates this with erotic undertones and abstracted figures. What is the emotional outcome, in your opinion? Editor: Well, formally speaking, it evokes something closer to anxiety than romanticism, given that stark tonal contrast and those distorted figures. Perhaps the heroic narrative of their departure is intentionally destabilized to reveal an inner turmoil that more classical depictions may have masked. Curator: Roitburd was working in post-Soviet Ukraine, and some see echoes of political and social anxieties reflected in his work. His bold, sometimes controversial approach challenged artistic conventions of his time. Editor: Ultimately, though, it is the arrangement of form, color and texture which is so unnerving. Roitburd certainly captures something essential about separation and intimacy using only the rudimentary language of artmaking itself. Curator: I’m compelled by your reading! Looking at the conditions of material production and social background gives me further grounds to reconsider what visual language and reception imply here. Thank you!