Dining 2003

Oleh Denysenko made this dreamy scene, Dining, using what looks like mixed media on board, though the exact date is unknown. I’m drawn to the way Denysenko's mark-making feels both intentional and intuitive, a dance between control and letting go, which is what painting is all about for me. The textures are so rich, aren't they? The surface is built up in layers, with earthy browns and a splash of vibrant red from the wine giving the piece an almost tactile quality. Look at the way Denysenko scratches into the surface to create those linear details! It's like he's excavating the image from the material itself. That one long diagonal mark across the center of the table really grounds the whole piece. Denysenko reminds me a little of early Philip Guston, especially in the way he balances figuration and abstraction, and the rough, almost crude application of paint. But Denysenko has his own thing going on. There’s a lovely ambiguity to the image that I appreciate. Is it a portrait, a still life, or some strange hybrid of the two? It’s all up for grabs.