Self-portrait with a bouquet of flowers 1933

Oleksa Novakivskyi made this self-portrait, holding a bouquet of flowers, using oil on canvas. I love how the paint is applied in these thick, juicy strokes – it's like he's sculpting with color. There's a real physicality to the way he builds up the surface, and that gives the painting a kind of raw, emotional energy. Look at the way he renders his beard, each swirl and dab of paint seems to vibrate with life. The flowers are a riot of color, blues, oranges and yellows, all competing for attention, a visual echo of the artist’s own inner turbulence. The white shirt is also heavily textured with directional brush strokes. Novakivskyi’s approach reminds me a little of Van Gogh, that same intensity and willingness to lay bare the artist's soul on the canvas. But Novakivskyi has his own unique voice, and his paintings are a testament to the power of art to embrace ambiguity and complexity.