Female image 1975

Editor: We’re looking at "Female image," an ink drawing on paper from 1975 by Hryhorii Havrylenko. It feels so immediate, like a quick study. Something about the starkness and the hatching gives it a very direct, almost confrontational energy. What grabs your attention when you look at it? Curator: Ah, yes! Confrontational...or perhaps more accurately, intimate? The artist's hand is so present. It’s a window into a fleeting moment, wouldn’t you say? Notice how the hatching not only models form but also seems to vibrate with a nervous energy, especially around the eyes. They stare out at us so intensely. I wonder what story *they* could tell! Editor: I see what you mean about intimacy. The way the lines are so raw, almost unfinished. What do you make of the slightly caricatured features – the nose, the lips? Is that intentional? Curator: Intentionality is such a slippery fish, isn't it? I like to think of it more as...revealing. The artist zeroes in on certain features, amplifying them to capture…what? Perhaps a hidden vulnerability? The line teeters on the edge of something grotesque, but then pulls back, maintaining a delicate balance. What a tightrope to walk! Does that resonance for you? Editor: Absolutely, that push and pull between vulnerability and something almost unsettling is fascinating. I initially saw a sketch, but now I’m seeing a complex emotional portrait. Curator: Isn’t that the joy of looking? We begin with what we think we know and end up somewhere completely unexpected.