Мыльные герои 1988

Vasiliy Ryabchenko made this painting, Мыльные герои, with oil on canvas. Look at the way he applies paint! There's a real sense of freedom, almost reckless abandon, in the brushstrokes. The colours feel like they've been chosen less for accuracy and more for the sheer joy of putting them next to each other. It feels like the process is part of the point. The texture is alive - you can see the brushstrokes, the way the paint has been dragged and layered. Notice that intense pink in the figure at the left, its lines create a real sense of energy. This gestural quality reminds me of de Kooning, that same kind of raw, expressive mark-making. This painting isn’t trying to be perfect, it’s trying to be real. And that, to me, is what makes it so compelling.