Flowers in a white vase 1990

Serhij Schyschko made this painting of flowers in a white vase; its exact date is unknown, but its energy is palpable. The thick impasto of the paint reminds me that art is, at its heart, a process of building. Look closely, and you'll see how Schyschko has constructed the image with distinct daubs of color, each one a little building block. The way he's layered the paint creates a textured surface, almost like a relief. There's a real physicality to it, a sense of the artist's hand at work. The yellow flower to the right of the painting is like a small sun, drawing my eye in and upward, leading me through the garden of hues. The longer I look, the more I wonder about someone like Van Gogh and the possibilities of how artists translate what they see into something new. Art is less about answers, more about opening up conversations across time.