Bather 1988

Vasiliy Ryabchenko painted this Bather, we don’t know exactly when, but he used oil paint. The whole surface hums with warmth, enveloped in these earthy reds and pinks, like stepping into a hot bath, or maybe a hazy memory. He's not trying to trick you into thinking this is "real life," instead, there's a beautiful honesty in the way he allows the paint to be itself. It's like he's saying, "Hey, this is paint, and I'm gonna let it do its thing." I love the way he's built up the texture around the central bather. See the figure crouching to the left? It’s built up of quick, almost scribbled marks, not quite defining the form. It's that kind of deliberate ambiguity that makes you lean in and really engage. Ryabchenko’s looser handling of paint reminds me of Pierre Bonnard, especially in the way he captures fleeting moments with such rich, atmospheric colour. Both artists understand that art is not about capturing a fixed reality, but about creating a space for feeling and imagination.