M XII 1982

Oleksandr Aksinin made this print, M XII, with graphic tools on paper, and I'm drawn to the way the black ink sits, dense yet alive. It's not just a color; it’s a world. The texture of the black creates depth. In contrast, the white or light gray shades look smooth, almost slippery, defining the mechanical figures and the lines weaving around them. These linear marks create a sense of movement. I love how the artist uses simple materials to create such complexity, embracing the possibilities inherent in the printing process itself. Looking at this piece, I’m reminded of other artists who blend the mechanical with the organic, such as Francis Picabia. Like Picabia, Aksinin invites us to see the human in the machine, and the machine in the human, reflecting on how art continually reimagines itself through dialogue and experimentation. It’s this ambiguity that makes art so endlessly fascinating.