Boats 1991

Oleg Holosiy made this painting, Boats, which measures 100 by 150 centimeters, using what looks like a very limited palette, maybe just blacks and browns. It feels like he wanted to keep the whole thing murky and mysterious, like art-making itself! The painting's got this textured surface, with the paint applied kind of thinly, almost like a wash in places. It’s not trying to hide how it was made, you can practically feel the brushstrokes. I keep looking at that single line where the reflection on the water meets the boat. It is like a horizon line, but somehow precarious, as if it could slip out of view at any moment. Holosiy leaves everything open to interpretation, never quite settling on one fixed meaning. Looking at Holosiy's work, I'm reminded of the symbolist painters like Odilon Redon, who also embraced ambiguity and the power of suggestion. It's like they're inviting us to join them in this ongoing conversation about what it means to see and feel the world around us.