Quiet Autumn Day 

Curator: Here we have “Quiet Autumn Day” by Abraham Manievich. Editor: The title is perfect; there’s an incredible stillness captured. Even with the bold brushstrokes, I get a palpable sense of quiet. Curator: Manievich was a Ukrainian-American artist who immigrated to the United States in the early 1920s. His work often reflects a sense of displacement and longing, mediated through scenes of urban life or stylized landscapes, painted primarily in oil. Editor: The impasto is quite pronounced. Look how the light seems to dance on the surface, especially in the branches of the tree. I appreciate how Manievich uses that texture to create a dynamic play of light and shadow, almost obscuring the urban elements with these intense colors. Curator: That interplay between abstraction and figuration is typical of the expressionist style. This, combined with Manievich’s own biography as an immigrant in the United States, perhaps it also symbolizes a struggle to integrate into and find beauty within the industrialized landscape of urban America, to seek a comforting nostalgia through a modern style. Editor: Interesting! For me, it's about the surface. Notice how the brushwork is much looser and vibrant in the upper parts of the painting than the areas depicting urban objects, drawing my eye upward and suggesting transcendence, maybe even, in a secular sense. Curator: It's important to remember that expressionism in the United States was more than a European import. Artists here adapted it to speak to local experiences and anxieties, and the style became infused with those things, such as the rapid changes of city life at the turn of the century. Manievich's abstracted but discernible cityscapes are an excellent case study. Editor: That's well-put! Ultimately, what resonates with me is the sheer vibrancy. Despite what the title suggests, there's so much activity of brush and paint, an artist at one with color and form. Curator: Indeed, by using an overtly expressive technique in his cityscapes, he’s imbuing the ordinary with emotion, transforming the city scene through the power of art, hinting at something universal in its textures.