Exlibris of D.Shelest 1976

Oleksandr Aksinin made this etching, Exlibris of D. Shelest, sometime before his death in 1985. I love all the meticulous detail here! It’s like the artist is building a world from scratch, line by line. I’m imagining Aksinin hunched over a plate, carefully scratching away at the metal. There’s this weird, dreamlike narrative happening with figures and trumpets, each element rendered with such precision. And those shelves stacked up with all the faces and horns… It makes you wonder, what kind of sounds are these characters making? Are they mournful or celebratory? I think I can relate to this strange image. It kind of reminds me of some of Klee’s more whimsical drawings, where the architecture feels alive and a little bit mischievous. Both of these artists show us how the act of close looking and careful rendering can open up new ways of seeing, thinking, and feeling.