Catchers (right part of the diptych) 1992

Vasiliy Ryabchenko made this oil painting, Catchers, and it's just bursting with a kind of mythic energy. Look at how he's built up the surface, those brushstrokes are really alive, it's clear that Ryabchenko doesn't want to hide the process. I love the way the figure is standing in the water, you can almost feel the weight of him. And those fish, so alive with colour and pattern, really pop against the blues and greens. The way he renders the cloud, it's like a memory or a dream. Notice how the light in the cloud contrasts with the shadow of the man; it's a really interesting way to show his process. Ryabchenko's work reminds me of Chagall, both tap into a kind of dream-like folk tradition, but Ryabchenko is doing his own thing, and making art that's both strange and beautiful. In art, like fishing, sometimes you just have to let go and see what you catch.