Sleepy positions of knight E7 and bishop G5 in the third quarter of December 1990

Curator: Well, that’s… intense. It feels like a fever dream, all blurred shapes and shadowy figures. Is that intentional? Editor: Most definitely. This is Oleg Holosiy's "Sleepy positions of knight E7 and bishop G5 in the third quarter of December," created in 1990. Holosiy was part of the Ukrainian New Wave, a movement that really shook up the art world in the late 80s and early 90s. It's mixed media, largely acrylic paint, and exemplifies Abstract Expressionism. Curator: New Wave, huh? I'm wondering how the societal upheaval of that period in Ukraine – the dissolving of the Soviet Union, new economic realities, greater cultural freedom—might be embodied in these frantic gestures. This raw handling of paint reminds me of factory work, a physical laboring that's transferred onto the canvas, using crude but evocative applications to mirror an emotional rawness. Editor: An intriguing parallel! The subject matter – the oddly specific title referring to chess pieces – appears almost incidental. Holosiy was interested in mythology, in archetypes, so it seems likely chess, or games in general, functioned as symbols for broader human dramas, struggles of power in a crumbling social order. We should ask how far we need to interpret it based on the context of the 1990s alone. Curator: Well, the material evidence steers me in that direction. Look closely. There's a real looseness of technique—the texture reveals layers and reworkings that become metaphors in themselves. Editor: Good point, these rapidly shifting layers mirror social shifts, too. What do you make of this palette of muted colors? Curator: I think they enhance that raw feeling—a contrast between the starkness of those greys and the violent reds... And this texture isn’t precious or polished, but crude—emphatically handmade but deliberately not refined. Editor: Considering the post-Soviet context, that emphasis on "un-preciousness" resonates even more deeply. Many of the social systems and cultural structures in place for nearly 70 years, suddenly collapsed. The very means of artistic production shifted. Access to resources changed. Curator: Right, which returns us to how "Sleepy Positions..." functions as both an artistic statement, and almost an archive of a cultural moment that continues to evolve, shift and create new ways of seeing and doing things even now. Editor: It also emphasizes the fact that there will probably always be interpretations that we'll never uncover, so keeping that at the forefront helps, too.