Happy Birhtday 1976

Oleksandr Aksinin made this circular drawing, titled ‘Happy Birthday,’ using ink and colored pencil on paper. The overall color is a faded, almost ghostly green, like something seen through water or a very old lens. The surface is rich with tiny marks, layer upon layer of them creating a dense, almost vibrating texture. Look at how the lines radiate from the center, some bolder, some hesitant, like spokes on a strange, inner wheel. The drawing feels like a hidden message, a coded map of the artist's mind. I'm reminded of Paul Klee, especially his graphic, symbolic language. But Aksinin's drawing has a rawness, an intensity that is all its own. It’s like he's not just drawing, but trying to touch something beyond the visible. Art is about making marks and finding that connection.