Decorative Head 1960

Vilen Barsky made this watercolor head, maybe he was thinking about Picasso, or maybe he was just doodling, and found himself face to face with this character, who knows? I can feel the quickness in his hand as he laid down these strokes of watery blue, and then built the head with a black outline. It's amazing how little you need to evoke a face. The black lines feel sure and shaky at the same time, like the artist was feeling his way, one line at a time. I'm moved by this, and also by the relationship between the colours, the black and blue are so loaded, maybe even melancholy. Anyway, Barsky invites us to see him thinking with his brush, responding to what emerges on the page. That’s how paintings happen. Artists are always talking to each other across time, and this head feels like part of that ongoing, never-ending conversation.