Cypresses and Head 2008

Pavlo Makov made Cypresses and Head, sometime in the last few decades, using what looks like ink or watercolor on paper. You know, sometimes the simplest materials can be the most evocative, right? I see a real dance between control and letting go here. Each cypress is rendered with a confident stroke, yet there's a slight variation, a kind of organic asymmetry, which makes you think about each mark as a conscious decision in the making of the whole. The way Makov arranges these elements, it's not just about representation. The texture, the paper, and the way the pigment sits on its surface, all give it this really present feeling. Take a closer look at the head, surrounded by this regimented forest. The way the artist renders it is suggestive, yet also indistinct, and this contrast gives the whole piece a mysterious, dreamlike quality. It reminds me a bit of Klee’s symbolic landscapes, where every line and shape carries a kind of quiet, internal significance. Ultimately, it’s up to us to bring our own meanings to the image, and that’s where the fun begins.