Untitled 1958

Vilen Barsky made this untitled painting, probably with oils on canvas. What strikes me is how he's built up the surface, thick and luscious, like he's wrestling with the paint. It's all about the act of applying the pigment. Look at the bottom left, where that dark, almost black form meets the grey ground. It's not about blending or finesse, but about the pure physicality of the medium, like he’s pushing the paint around with a palette knife. This isn’t about representation, but about making something happen right there on the canvas. It's a direct record of an action. I think of someone like Guston, who also grappled with paint in such an immediate way. Both artists remind us that painting is a conversation, always evolving. There's no right or wrong answer, just a constant push and pull, a dialogue between the artist, the materials, and us, the viewers.