Portrait 1962

Vilen Barsky made this painting, Portrait, with loose brushstrokes of grey, brown, and green. The painting feels quick and off-the-cuff, but I can see some purposeful decisions behind the immediacy of the marks. I see the artist searching for the right way to capture a feeling, going back and forth, adding lines, and then covering them up. I’ve definitely been there! I’m wondering if Barsky was thinking about expressionist painters like Kirchner when he made this work. The bold, dark outlines and simplified forms definitely remind me of early 20th-century expressionism. But there’s also something so personal and quirky about this portrait. It is as though the painting is a record of a conversation between the artist and themself and between different generations of artists. That kind of dialogue is what keeps painting alive!