Red Landscape 2019

Pavlo Makov conjures a Red Landscape with mixed media on paper. It feels like seeing a memory, the kind where the color is heightened and the details are a bit dreamlike. This single plant, or maybe it’s a tree, it's hard to tell. The tree-like plant sprouting tiny houses reminds me of Paul Klee; that’s a painter who was also obsessed with seeing the world through fresh eyes. Makov offers us a similar vision. I imagine him carefully applying each layer, building up the red ground, scratching back to reveal the paper, adding those delicate lines that connect the houses to the larger world. The deep red feels both earthy and otherworldly, as if this landscape exists in a realm of imagination. In a way, all paintings are like that, aren’t they? Artists are constantly riffing off one another, sharing ideas across time. Makov's Red Landscape reminds us that painting isn't just about what we see, but about how we see and feel and imagine the world around us.