Untitled 1945

This untitled drawing was made around 1945 by the group Kukryniksy, and it's all about line and shape. There is a real weight to the marks, a sense of urgency, as if the artists were trying to capture something fleeting. I am drawn to the man’s belly where a dark heart is pierced by a sword. The heart itself is such a simple, bold shape, but then you see the details inside: the noose, the dripping blood, the bomb. The texture is built up through cross-hatching, giving a grimy feel to the whole thing. I’m reminded of the work of Philip Guston, who also used a cartoonish style to tackle some really dark themes. This piece, like Guston’s paintings, embraces ambiguity. It’s not just about good versus evil, but about the messy, complicated reality of human experience.