Running from a Thunderstorm (version) 1989

Curator: We’re looking at Oleg Holosiy’s “Running from a Thunderstorm (version),” a mixed-media work created in 1989. Holosiy employed both impasto and matter-painting techniques here. Editor: It has a really heavy, almost oppressive feel. The colors are so dark, it’s like the storm has already engulfed everything. There’s something undeniably visceral about it. Curator: The materiality definitely contributes to that. Look at the layering and thick application of paint; the almost sculptural quality evokes not just an image, but a physical sense of the chaotic forces. Editor: The central cluster is a flurry of implied shapes—almost monstrous. I see a dark, primal energy. Is there an expressionist intention here, perhaps capturing the dread or even exhilaration experienced in the face of chaos? Curator: It could be read through the lens of abstract expressionism. This piece challenges the norms around traditional painting practice; you see both the representation and deconstruction of an event. It shows Holosiy’s experimental process during a period of artistic and social upheaval in Ukraine. The active gesture and seemingly raw approach suggests Holosiy might be more focused on presenting the sensory experience, than the representational. Editor: What reads like "running" evokes movement away from some central threat – even without traditional, recognizable figures – while “thunderstorm” delivers the emotional jolt, amplifying the primal panic into more meaningful cultural anxiety. Those symbols speak to anxieties tied to environment or unseen forces—a deeper human response than mere weather. Curator: I think understanding its context sheds light on the artistic risks he was willing to take by using new materials and abstract techniques. In doing so he challenged existing political ideas around what art should be and its traditional practices. Editor: Seeing how both symbolic charge and material presence amplify each other… it reveals a rich vision beyond mere anxiety, wouldn't you say? Curator: Absolutely. Looking closely shows us Holosiy's painting isn't only documenting external turmoil but reflects, very viscerally, an internal reckoning through those charged brushstrokes and material choices. Editor: Exactly, an expressive material force shaping our understanding of human experiences—from fleeting fears to deep historical undercurrents.