Composition 1981

Editor: Here we have Hryhorii Havrylenko's "Composition," painted in 1981. It’s… well, it's quite the assortment of circles and amoeba-like shapes. They’re all floating on this pale bluish-grey field. There is something very simple but interesting. What do you see in it? Curator: Ah, yes, Hryhorii! This painting reminds me of pebbles I used to collect by the sea when I was a boy. Worn smooth, almost candy-like… but tell me, does the way the circles are arranged make you think of anything? Editor: Candy, you say! Well, maybe... the way the colours pop. The circles do have a… a playful quality? Almost like bubbles? Curator: Bubbles, pebbles, candy... Lovely, these organic shapes coupled with such structured circles. This interplay hints to me at the tensions between natural form and human-made structure, a reflection on Soviet urbanisation maybe? Or simply the delight one finds in the contrast! It is easy to get drawn into that world of childhood imagination with abstract forms. How would you react to this if I told you that during his lifetime he had to live and create "underground"? Editor: That’s a whole other perspective. Suddenly it feels… less innocent. Those floating shapes could be about feeling trapped, or wanting to escape. Curator: Indeed! An entirely plausible interpretation when looking through that political lens. The power of art! We project and find a version of ourselves as we ask “what does this mean”. Editor: Absolutely. I saw just colourful shapes, but now there is so much more to it. Curator: Precisely! Each encounter unfolds a new conversation, another world unseen just moments before.