Torso 1975

Vasiliy Ryabchenko made this painting, Torso, with what looks like oils, and maybe some other stuff mixed in, and the first thing that hits you is the palette; it's muted, almost monochromatic, but far from dull. Ryabchenko’s canvas, at 85 by 61 centimeters, becomes a field of tactile experimentation. The paint is built up, thick in places, creating a topography of marks. Look at the way the 'torso' emerges from the background; it's like he’s excavating this figure from the ground. The texture feels almost geological, like layers of sediment slowly revealing form. I keep coming back to those eyes. They're huge, innocent, maybe a little shocked, and placed high on the head of the figure. There is something very childlike in the way these simple white ovals give the figure life. It reminds me a little of Guston's later work, but maybe more tender. It's like he's asking us to look, and to feel. Art’s such an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas.