Four Abstract Compositions 1965

These "Four Abstract Compositions" were created in 1965 by Hryhorii Havrylenko, likely with pen on paper. Look at how each mark seems carefully, almost obsessively placed, building up the weight and density of the four vertical forms. It’s this process, the repeated action of mark-making, that really grabs me. The texture is fascinating; these aren't smooth, flat surfaces, but almost woven, constructed from tiny hatched lines. In the upper left square, see how the lines bunch up, creating dark, almost velvety passages? You can almost feel the rhythm of the artist's hand, the pressure and release as the pen moved across the paper. It reminds me of Agnes Martin, not so much in the look of the work, but in the meditative quality of repeated, simple gestures. Ultimately, I think these works open up a space to consider art as a conversation, a continual process of call and response. Like a game of exquisite corpse, it builds towards something strange and new.