Composition (with red sphere) 1963

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this painting, Composition (with red sphere), sometime during his lifetime with paint on canvas. You know, looking at it, I just think, that’s how painting feels sometimes: a juggling act of shapes and colors. The colors here are really doing something. They're not quite primary, but they're close, and they slam up against each other with a real boldness. The application is so direct, each stroke feels like a decision, a little burst of energy. Look at that red loop near the top. It’s so juicy, so confident. It makes me think of Kandinsky, the way he used color to express emotion. There’s a similar sense of freedom here, like Havrylenko is letting the paint lead the way. It’s like he’s saying, “Here’s what I feel, here’s what I see, and here’s how I’m going to put it all together, right now, without any fuss.” It's like a conversation, and a pretty exciting one at that.