Numerical Affection 1 1982

Oleksandr Aksinin made this drawing called Numerical Affection 1, we don't know exactly when, using ink and watercolour, and right away you can see the process, all those intuitive marks and careful notations. The colour is laid down in bands, red at the top, then green, then some blue creeping in from the corner. The surface is translucent, the white paper shining through the thin washes of colour. It's possible to see the hand at work. Look closely at the bottom right corner, where the blue meets the red and green. It’s not a clean line, but a kind of broken edge, like a conversation between the colours. The black squares scattered throughout feel a bit like afterthoughts, each one carefully placed. Aksinin’s work reminds me of Paul Klee, the way he combines abstraction with a kind of childlike wonder. Like Klee, Aksinin embraced the power of suggestion, inviting us to bring our own interpretations to the table. It’s a reminder that art isn’t about fixed meanings, but about the ongoing exchange of ideas.