Sex Libris #1 V.O. 1976

Editor: This is Oleksandr Aksinin’s "Sex Libris #1 V.O." made in 1976, a surrealist etching on paper. It’s a small print, almost intimate in scale. I’m struck by the density of lines and how they create these strange, dreamlike figures. How do you interpret this work? Curator: The density you observe is achieved through meticulous layering, indicative of the artist's control over the etching process. Consider the structural relationships: a vertical stacking of figures set against a flat, almost theatrical backdrop of brickwork. The composition is essentially divided into foreground and background, but with minimal depth. How does this shallow space affect your perception of the figures? Editor: It feels a bit claustrophobic, maybe even voyeuristic. Like we’re peeking into someone’s bizarre performance. The title "Sex Libris," combined with the trumpet and stacked figures… is Aksinin trying to communicate something about power or maybe knowledge through a disturbing lens? Curator: Indeed. Note how the figures' forms are distorted, elongated. There is a definite hierarchical arrangement at play. It is tempting to analyze the work’s thematic qualities; however, let us acknowledge the artist's masterful manipulation of the medium. The tonal gradations create a visual dynamism which complicates an immediate and singular reading of this print. Editor: So you are drawn more to the craftsmanship, to the actual mark-making, rather than the narrative it might suggest? Curator: Precisely. Though inseparable from the interpretation of narrative, the tangible elements establish Aksinin’s visual voice. I observe Aksinin masterfully employed textures that add to its cryptic ambiance. In what ways does Aksinin compel one to think outside prescribed thematics through technique? Editor: Interesting. Focusing on the technique helps me appreciate the unsettling feeling it evokes, almost apart from any story it could be telling. I hadn't thought of that before. Thank you. Curator: It is in this balance of method and subject that a richer encounter with this piece comes to bear.