Heraldry of Sound 1989

Curator: Standing before us is Dmytro Kavsan's 1989 painting, "Heraldry of Sound." It’s an oil-based matter-painting, decidedly abstract expressionist in its approach. Editor: Oh, it’s like a symphony conducted in shadows! Dark, almost volcanic… I feel a deep rumble in my chest just looking at it. Curator: Indeed. Matter-painting embraces texture and material presence. Kavsan builds layers, almost sculpting the surface to evoke a sense of depth and history. Post-Soviet Ukrainian art, particularly in the late 80s, saw artists like Kavsan grappling with identity through abstraction. They sought a language beyond the strictly prescribed socialist realism. Editor: I can sense that rebellion. You can almost hear the scraping of metal, a dissonant chord pushing against something unseen. Do you think the title, "Heraldry of Sound", suggests specific instruments or maybe the echoes of industrial sounds he might've been surrounded by? Curator: That’s insightful. The title might hint at the unseen forces, maybe the repressed sounds of Ukrainian culture, finding expression despite the political climate. 'Heraldry' implies symbols, emblems… the search for new icons of identity through abstract sonic representation. Editor: Interesting! I am getting a strong sense of… struggle. The color palette certainly enforces the painting's turbulent feelings. It's more than just paint; it's emotion given form. I find myself pondering if it reflects the personal anguish that goes in creating works of artistic beauty and resistance. Curator: Absolutely. The “sound” then, could be the clamor of suppressed voices. And by using abstraction, Kavsan perhaps aimed to transcend explicit political commentary, instead reaching for something universal, deeply rooted in the human experience of those times. Editor: Makes you wonder what sounds fueled his brush… what echoes will his painting carry into the future? It leaves me contemplating the delicate, often distorted, relationship between history, resistance, and art. Curator: An echo worth considering, truly. Kavsan offers an intense dialogue between form, material, and the intangible realms of memory and cultural struggle.