Abstract composition (Sketch for the "Nika") 1963

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this abstract composition, a sketch for the “Nika,” with what looks like a ballpoint pen, and the feeling is urgent, like he’s trying to capture something fleeting. I can imagine Havrylenko hunched over this page, maybe in a cafe or on a train, the pen scratching, and a world emerging from the white. There’s a lot of hatching, these little parallel lines building up tone and shadow, creating a kind of vibrating energy. Look how the lines change direction, sometimes following the form, sometimes pushing against it. It’s like he’s thinking through the pen, feeling his way through the subject. The marks are raw, almost clumsy, yet the overall effect is surprisingly delicate. It reminds me a little of Cy Twombly, that sense of searching and finding through gesture. It’s like Havrylenko is inviting us into his process, showing us how a painting comes into being, bit by bit, line by line. He's asking us to think about how each mark, each decision, contributes to the final image.