Exlibris of Oleksiy Itutin 1978

This is Oleksandr Aksinin's Exlibris of Oleksiy Itutin, made in '78, and I imagine it came into being through patience, trial, and intuition. It's a drawing with dense, dark, swirling lines that create a fantastical scene, a personal bookplate. I love the obsessive detail, the kind of mark-making that feels like a meditation. I wonder what Aksinin was thinking as he built up these layers, this weird and wonderful vision. The lines almost vibrate, don't they? They make you want to lean in, to decipher the symbols, the figures. I see echoes of other artists who delved into personal mythologies, like Hilma af Klint or even William Blake. Artists are always in conversation, aren't they? Sharing ideas, inspiring each other across time. This piece is an invitation to embrace ambiguity. It's a reminder that art doesn't always have to be clear, or easy. Sometimes, the most interesting things are the ones that leave you with more questions than answers.