Untitled 2022

Alevtyna Kakhidze made this drawing, Untitled, using pens and colored pencils. See how the marks are loose, almost scribbled, like the artist is thinking right onto the page? The whole thing feels raw, like a snapshot of an idea still in formation. I’m really drawn to the upper body of the cockroach, rendered in Russian flag colors. The red bleeding out from under the insect’s body is particularly striking. It’s messy, not precise, which makes it feel more emotionally charged. The cockroach towers above a cluster of figures labeled "NATO," "the UK," "EU," and "USA", all rendered as fallen dogs. It’s a powerful image. This reminds me a bit of Philip Guston’s late work – that same willingness to embrace the grotesque and the cartoonish as a way to grapple with serious issues. Art, at its best, isn’t about easy answers; it’s about wrestling with ambiguity.