Fallen City II 1982

Erol Akyavaş made this painting, Fallen City II, using strokes of blues, greens, and grays that give the impression of a landscape in flux. I can imagine him layering the paint, almost like building up a city from scratch, then knocking it all down again. The textures are so varied, from the smooth sky to the rough, almost scribbled buildings, it's like he’s showing us a place that’s constantly being remade or unmade. I get a sense of turmoil, but also resilience here. Look at how the geometric forms of the buildings push against those organic shapes looming above - boulders? Clouds? Maybe Akyavaş was thinking about history, about how civilizations rise and fall, and how nature always has the last word. Or maybe it's just a really cool abstract painting about shapes and colors doing a wild dance together. The push and pull, the making and unmaking. It makes me think about de Kooning's excavations, how he would build up and then scrape away at the canvas, finding his way through destruction.