Abstract Composition (Female Image) 1970

Curator: This intriguing drawing is entitled "Abstract Composition (Female Image)" by Hryhorii Havrylenko, created in 1970 using pen and ink. It's currently held in a private collection. Editor: My first impression is that this piece is surprisingly vulnerable. It's abstracted, sure, but those lines are almost like exposed nerves. The way the pen scratches across the surface… there's a tension there. Curator: It’s interesting you pick up on that tension. Havrylenko was working in a Soviet context where artistic expression was heavily controlled. Abstraction, while seemingly non-political, became a way to subvert those controls. Did you notice the geometric quality of this figuration? Editor: Yes, definitely. Those firm lines carve out shapes, they create form, yet there’s also this sense of fragmentation. It’s as if the female form is being dissected, analyzed through line, light, and texture – or perhaps hidden in plain sight. But you’re right – context is everything, isn’t it? It makes me wonder if this deconstruction wasn't also a subtle act of resistance, a way to reclaim the body from state control. Curator: Precisely. And think about the materials. Simple pen and ink. Accessible, easily hidden. This wasn’t grand oil painting intended for the official salons. It was something intimate, personal, almost clandestine. Editor: It’s a bold work of art to emerge during an authoritarian time that stifled creativity; each crosshatched line speaks volumes about the inner world. Did Havrylenko display this piece in public? Curator: We believe it mostly circulated privately, within a circle of like-minded artists and intellectuals. It highlights how art can operate within and against a system, finding ways to express complex ideas even when overt expression is stifled. These kinds of small drawings can hold enormous cultural weight. Editor: I find it striking how much emotion Havrylenko was able to conjure through what are essentially lines on paper. Its haunting rawness has something relevant to tell us. Curator: It’s a powerful reminder that artistic expression always finds a way.