Winter Evening 1990

Ivan Marchuk painted this wild landscape, maybe in the late 20th century, layering strange, scratchy marks with what seems like oil on canvas. Look closely and you’ll see how each stroke is almost a tiny thread, building up into forms that could be hills, trees, or maybe even strange creatures. There's such a tactile quality to it, you can almost feel the rough texture under your fingers. The muted palette, mostly browns and blacks, gives it a somber, almost apocalyptic feel, but then there are these highlights, touches of gold, that catch the light and give it a glimmer of hope. See that area over there, where the light hits the top of the mound? The paint seems to vibrate! Marchuk’s distinctive style reminds me of some of Guston's later works, where he piles up simple forms to create a whole new world. Like Guston, Marchuk shows how art can embrace the strange and unexpected, leaving us to wonder, and feel our way through the unknown.