Owl 1960

Gregory Alexandrovich Israelovich created this sketch of an owl, using pencil on paper. Israelovich was born in Ukraine, when it was part of the Soviet Union. He was later based in Saint Petersburg. Consider the owl's symbolic weight as a creature of the night, often associated with wisdom, magic, and the feminine divine. Israelovich’s owl stands in silent watch, its presence a commentary on the artist's relationship with the spiritual and natural world. The work was made in the 60s, in the Soviet Union, when artists were faced with a choice of either conforming to the strictures of socialist realism or finding subtle ways to express their personal vision. What does it mean to depict an owl, an animal with cultural associations of wisdom and watchfulness, during a time of political repression? This is a deeply personal reflection, where the artist grapples with themes of identity, freedom, and self-expression in a world where such explorations could be perilous.