Untitled 2018

This drawing by Alevtyna Kakhidze is made with the simplest of means - pen and what looks like maybe a felt tip. The directness of the marks are very appealing; it feels like the artist is just speaking to us in a very matter of fact way. I like the rawness of the drawing, there is a directness to the marks and how they are laid down. The images are all separate but seem to talk to each other on the page. The flower, with its hastily written words, feels very intimate, while the landscapes on the right take us to somewhere else entirely. It’s like two worlds are being shown, the personal and the political, and they live side by side. There's an interesting relationship to be explored with the work of artists like Henry Darger, who also used simple means to express a complex and deeply personal vision. Art is often a dialogue, a conversation across time, and this piece is a compelling contribution.