Hunter 2020

Stepan Ryabchenko made "Hunter" using digital tools, playing with light and form in a way that feels both futuristic and ancient. The texture here is all smooth surfaces and hard edges, which gives the whole scene a kind of hyper-real feel. Look at the way the light bounces off the Hunter's back. Notice how the color shifts from deep violet to a shimmering teal? The creature itself seems to emerge out of pure color. It reminds me of the way that Yves Tanguy's surrealist landscapes create a dreamlike world. Ryabchenko builds this world out of digital code rather than oil paint. Is it a comment on technology, or is it just a new way of exploring the same old questions about what it means to be alive and to see? Maybe it's both.