The Fourth 'Book of Schemes'. Album #2, the First Folder 1978

Valerii Lamakh made this gouache on paper, with its rows and columns and coloured dots, as part of his 'Book of Schemes'. I can imagine Lamakh in his studio, pushing paint around, figuring things out as he goes, in this process of trial, error, and intuition. What was he thinking? Maybe he was trying to map something – the flow of traffic, the movement of people, or just the abstract relationships between shapes and colors. I love how the arrowheads give a sense of directionality, like a visual score that you can follow. The paint is thin, almost watery, which gives it a delicate feel. It reminds me of Hilma af Klint’s diagrams or Paul Klee’s playful abstractions. You can feel the artist working through ideas, making connections, and exploring possibilities. Artists are always in conversation with each other, borrowing and building on ideas across time. Painting is a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, which means we can all bring our own interpretations.