Exlibris of Natalya Slipchenko 1981

Oleksandr Aksinin made this bookplate for Natalya Slipchenko using pen and ink, with what looks like infinite patience. I love the approach to artmaking here; it’s so process-driven, almost obsessive in its detail. There's a quality to the surface, it’s so intensely worked with these tiny marks, so dense. It almost feels like a woven tapestry. I mean, look at that tiny black square, it's just solid darkness, a void amidst all this frantic energy. And then these figures, with their crown-like hats and armor, each one slightly different, like variations on a theme. It's like a little society. Aksinin, who was part of the Ukranian underground art scene, has echoes of artists like Paul Klee, with his playful symbolism. Art isn’t about answers, it’s about the questions, the possibilities.