Piquant instructions for the bodybuilder 1989

Vasiliy Ryabchenko’s ‘Piquant instructions for the bodybuilder’ is rendered in oil on canvas, with its precise date of creation remaining elusive. The canvas hosts a captivating interplay of subdued hues—soft pinks, grays, blues—layered to build an ambiguous figure emerging out of the background. Look at the texture, how the paint application seems both purposeful and spontaneous. I wonder, what was Ryabchenko thinking when the brush laid down each stroke? The thick outlines boldly define the form, while the delicate under layers peek through, giving depth and a strange sort of luminosity. The paint is so physical, so present, you can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the canvas, pushing and pulling the medium to construct the form. There’s something primal in the gesture, like echoes of Picasso's explorations of form. This piece feels like a fragment of an ongoing dialogue among painters across time. It reminds us that painting is not just about making an image, but about how we feel and what we perceive. Each viewer brings their unique lens, making every encounter a new, intimate experience.