Numerical Affection 2 1982

Oleksandr Aksinin made this intriguing watercolour sometime before 1985. It's like a geometric puzzle in shades of red and purple, crossed by a playful green line. I imagine Aksinin hunched over this, carefully layering each stripe, letting the colours bleed just so. What was he thinking as he added those quirky green shapes? They look like some strange, broken machine. The texture here isn't about thick paint, but rather about the delicate way watercolour interacts with paper. The surface almost glows, doesn’t it? It’s controlled but also a little bit wild. This reminds me of Paul Klee’s work – the same kind of playful exploration of line and colour, like he’s building his own secret language. Artists are always chatting to each other across time, aren't they? Each artwork a little message in a bottle. There is something very vulnerable in the act of painting, where an idea emerges, shifts, and eventually solidifies through colour and form. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, and invites multiple readings and meaning.