Fish 

Valentin Khrushch sketched these fish, using chalk and crayon. At first glance, we see a simple still life, but consider the humble fish, an ancient symbol, its form gliding through history. In early Christian art, the fish, or "ichthys," served as a covert symbol for Christ, a secret password during times of persecution. It echoed the miraculous catch of fish by the apostles. Centuries later, the fish appears in Dutch still life paintings. Yet, here, the fish seem stripped of any overt religious or moral symbolism. We return to the primal act of observing and recording the natural world. Notice the directness in Khrushch’s sketch. These fish carry a simple form, yet the eyes of the fish are open in a primal, perhaps subconscious reminder of mortality. The fish reappears, transformed, yet connected through humanity's enduring cultural consciousness.