Sednіv 1963

Serhij Schyschko made this painting, Sedniv, on a canvas using oil paint, though when exactly is a mystery. Looking at it, you get this real sense of artmaking as an active, searching process. Up close, the surface is thick with paint, troweled on with visible brushstrokes, especially in the foreground. The ochre earth is built from a variety of strokes: some are long and follow the form, others are short and staccato, suggesting the broken terrain of the Ukrainian hillside. A cluster of yellow flowers punctuates the muted green tones. Each bloom seems to be made from layered brushstrokes, blobs and dashes of yellow that are both representational and totally abstract. Schyschko's work reminds me of the Impressionists, like Monet, who used color and light to capture a fleeting moment. Like them, he embraced the ambiguities inherent in seeing and painting.