Balakovo Series 1962

Yuri Zlotnikov made this watercolor painting, part of his 'Balakovo Series', with energetic strokes and a subdued palette of greens, blues, browns, and reds. I can almost imagine him outside, quickly capturing the scene before him. The painting seems to show workers at a table, maybe on a lunch break, or in between shifts. I can sympathize with Zlotnikov’s task here. Those blues and browns really bring a somber tone to what might otherwise be a more joyful moment. Look at how he uses the thin washes of watercolor to define form but also allow light and air into the scene. It’s like he’s not just painting what he sees but also what he feels. That single gesture of the long dark swoosh of color that grounds the table feels so right – like it took him all day to do. It reminds me of the work of other modern painters who were trying to capture a sense of real life and the everyday. It's great how artists talk to each other across time, pushing and pulling at the edges of what painting can be. For Zlotnikov, and for us, I think the beauty is in that conversation, that ongoing exploration.