Palmistry 1988

Oleg Holosiy made *Palmistry* with oil on canvas. The painting feels like an excavation. Holosiy seems to have dug into the surface, pulling out dark shades of brown, grey, black, and white. I see a figure gazing into a crystal ball, and I imagine Holosiy staring deeply, too, searching for answers. The way the paint is applied so thickly—it’s almost sculptural—makes me think about the struggle to make something out of nothing, to conjure form from the void. The white outline of the table is like a horizon line and creates a stage for the drama to unfold. His painting feels raw and unresolved, but it's also the site of experimentation. The painting is not so different from the work of other Ukrainian painters who investigate history and cultural memory. It feels so present. It is a powerful reminder that artists are always in conversation with each other, challenging and inspiring new ways of seeing and being.