The bell tower of the Far Caves (Kyiv Lavra) 1996

Yuriy Khymych made this watercolour painting, The bell tower of the Far Caves, Kyiv Lavra, on paper, and what strikes me first is this quiet storm of purples and greys, softened by the golden domes peeking through the haze. The painting feels less about representation and more about the act of seeing, the way forms emerge from the atmosphere. The paint is thin, washy, like a memory fading at the edges. Look how the brushstrokes build up the hills and rooftops, creating a texture that's almost dreamlike, and how the light seems to hover, caught between the earthly and the ethereal. There’s something about this painting that reminds me of Milton Avery, that same distillation of form and color. It’s like Khymych is showing us that art isn’t about copying the world but about offering a glimpse into how we feel it.