Self-portrait 1988

Vasiliy Ryabchenko made this self-portrait with what looks like pencil on paper. There's something about the starkness of the marks and the negative space around the subject which opens this piece to all kinds of possibilities. He clearly didn't fuss over the details. It’s a bit like a map of a face, a network of lines giving us a sense of depth. You can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the paper, quickly mapping his features. Notice how his coat is just a collection of hatched lines that create texture. Ryabchenko is not trying to fool you into thinking this is 'real' - he is drawing attention to the process. This reminds me a little of Picasso's more cartoonish drawings, where representation gives way to the immediacy of mark-making. There is no right or wrong way to see, just a constant exploration of possibilities.