Mask. For the Ballet Studio of B.Nizhinskaya 1919

This painting, called 'Mask. For the Ballet Studio of B.Nizhinskaya', was made by Vadym Meller. It's all about flat shapes and a limited range of warm and cool tones, which makes me think about how the artist sees artmaking as a dance. The shapes in this painting, they're not trying to trick you with depth, but instead, they want you to feel the surface. There's an interesting tension between the flat, almost graphic quality of the red shawl, and the subtle gradations of grey in the dancer's legs. It's like Meller is saying, 'I'm not hiding the process, I'm showing it to you.' Look at the way he's simplified the human form into these dynamic, geometric shapes, they really do feel like a dancer in motion. I can’t help but wonder if Meller had seen some of Picasso’s cubist portraits, or maybe even some Italian futurist paintings. There’s something here about the way art is always talking to other art across time. It reminds us that art isn't about giving answers, but about asking questions.