Composition 1967

This is Hryhorii Havrylenko’s "Composition," date unknown, an assemblage of watercolor on paper, held in a private collection. The painting presents us with a vibrant yet diffuse composition, marked by a series of overlaid geometric forms and organic shapes. Patches of color — reds, blues, greens, and browns — create distinct zones across the canvas, made softer by the subtle transparency achieved in the layering of the watercolor. These colors aren't merely decorative; they establish a visual rhythm, a pulsating exchange of chromatic energy. Havrylenko's approach to abstraction here flirts with semiotics: blocks of green might suggest fields, bands of blue, water. Yet, these allusions are fleeting, destabilized by the work's commitment to pure form. The arrangement resists a singular, stable reading, instead inviting viewers to engage in a fluid interpretation, as the artist challenges our urge to create fixed meanings. Consider, finally, the date inscribed, '22.2.67', not as a mere marker of time, but as a signifier in itself. Here, the artist invites us to explore how the formal qualities of this composition function aesthetically and as part of a larger cultural and philosophical discourse.