5.IV. 1974

Oleksandr Aksinin made this etching, simply titled 5.IV., sometime before 1985, using line and a whole load of imagination. You can see that he's really thinking through the process of image making. The linear quality comes from the etched lines, and the image is built up in a really intriguing way, with each element layered and distinct. The texture is flat, of course, but the density of marks creates its own kind of space. Look at the grid of abstract forms in the middle section, all contained under the arc of a rainbow. It's architectural but also playful, like a code or alphabet, that could almost be read. The little donkey on top, with its masked rider, is so delicately drawn. It's as if Aksinin is showing us a personal symbology, a playful world that blends dreams, folklore, and personal history. There’s something of Paul Klee in Aksinin’s combination of whimsy and geometric abstraction. It all feels very open and experimental.