Artist's Granddaughter 1976

Sergiy Grigoriev’s ‘Artist's Granddaughter’ is a beautiful, intimate portrait, painted with oil on canvas at some point in the mid-20th century. The way Grigoriev lays down his strokes is really interesting. It’s like he’s building up the form of the girl, almost sculpting her out of paint. Looking closely, you can see the surface has this wonderful texture, like the paint has been applied wet-on-wet. The colors, they’re not blended smoothly but kind of sit next to each other, creating this lively vibrancy. There's a real sense of immediacy, like Grigoriev was capturing a fleeting moment. The scarf around her shoulders is a great example, each daub of colour distinct, but forming an overall pattern that’s full of life. This reminds me a little bit of someone like Alice Neel, in the way that both artists manage to capture something essential about their subjects. I think art is just a big conversation and there's no one right answer, each artist bringing their own unique voice to the table.