Holywood 2004

Arsen Savadov made this painting, Holywood, and what strikes me first is how he’s laid down the paint, a sort of loose, dreamy wash that feels both fragile and loaded with meaning. Look at the way the colors bleed and blend, creating these soft edges that give the whole scene an ethereal quality. The texture is smooth, the application is thin, but it's not about hiding the brushstrokes. The whole thing feels immediate, like a fleeting thought captured on canvas. Then there’s the obvious juxtaposition of a ballerina with Jesus against a backdrop of the Hollywood Hills. The ballerina has the stage, yet the figure of Christ looms behind her. It reminds me a bit of some of David Salle’s collage paintings, the way he brings together disparate images to create a narrative that's open to interpretation. Savadov seems to be asking us to consider how these figures, these symbols, intersect and inform each other. In the end, art's not about answers, it's about opening up a space for questions, for thinking, for feeling.