Landscape 1959

Valerii Lamakh made this landscape painting with visible brushstrokes in shades of green, yellow, and brown. I love to imagine the artist layering each stroke, building up this scene through touches of color. It’s like Lamakh is wrestling with what he sees, trying to capture not just the look of the landscape, but also the feeling of being there. I can almost feel the thickness of the paint, pushed and pulled across the surface. Look at the way the brushstrokes define the trees. There's a certain rhythm, a controlled energy, to his strokes. This piece reminds me of other landscape painters who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty. There’s a dialogue happening here, across time and place, where artists are constantly borrowing, stealing, and riffing off each other. Ultimately, painting is about this ongoing conversation, an exchange of ideas, and an embrace of all the beautiful, messy ambiguities that come with it.