Crimea 1980

Curator: Vudon Baklytsky painted "Crimea" in 1980, using acrylic on canvas. Editor: Immediately, the observation tower looms. It strikes me as out of place amidst this otherwise bucolic landscape. It feels unsettling. Curator: Yes, the watchtower does seem like a stark symbol. Its placement introduces a layer of socio-political tension. Visually, it also contrasts the home in the bottom left of the canvas. Editor: What particularly intrigues me is Baklytsky’s choice of medium. Acrylic paint allows for a certain flatness, almost a deliberate denial of depth, emphasizing the artifice of the scene. The landscape feels more like a stage set than a lived-in place, as though referencing labor relations on these fields. Curator: The layering of colors – pale yellows behind the crimson mountain and violet brushstrokes near the tower’s base – gives a sense of place. There's a flattening that emphasizes emotional tone above accurate topography, but consider the symbolism of these colors as culturally embedded memory of place. Editor: Interesting. The texture, achieved through visibly applied paint, signals a focus on the handmade nature of the artwork, a contrast to industrial structures that signal the work and its production. Curator: Absolutely. This visible facture encourages us to reflect on how representations of landscapes themselves are made, the image economy, the history and psychology tied to these landscapes. Editor: Well, considering Baklytsky’s work, I’m left contemplating the implications of industrial presence juxtaposed with such vibrant pastoral scenes, perhaps mirroring real socio-economic dynamics in Soviet-era Crimea. Curator: And I see how "Crimea" acts as a canvas for exploring our evolving relationship with memory. The painting reflects on layers of experience tied to that region.