Hide and seek 1989

Curator: This painting, titled "Hide and Seek," was executed by Oleg Holosiy in 1989, employing acrylic on canvas. It offers a disquieting yet intriguing viewing experience. What are your first thoughts? Editor: Haunting, definitely haunting. There’s a real sense of… fractured narrative here, figures appearing and disappearing within these panes. It evokes themes of both confinement and the ethereal. The lack of precise rendering emphasizes a psychological rawness that really catches my attention. Curator: Indeed. Holosiy's "Hide and Seek," particularly viewed through the lens of its historical context in the late 1980s Ukrainian art scene, really pushes against socialist realism’s mandated optimism, instead choosing a postmodern approach that really dives deep into individual human subjectivity, into interior turmoil. What we observe is a move that anticipates major political upheavals of that time. Editor: The composition certainly steers away from clarity. The grid acts almost as a symbolic filter. Holosiy sets up a stage where representation and abstraction fight for prominence in our focus. We can examine it using semiotic concepts such as the construction of visual codes, exploring how these individual sections form a fractured representation of societal unease through his selection of form and colour alone. Curator: Also, the way that he uses figuration— those ghostly figures in these delineated sections— that also provides a study in human psychology and societal concerns. The contrast between the tangible grid and these ephemeral forms suggests an internal, psychological battle of concealment and revealing within society. It reflects very cleverly the time that he painted it. Editor: So would you consider those obscured elements representative of state censorship during this era? It seems that would directly play a part, no? Curator: Absolutely, the obscured shapes hint at restricted speech, whereas the very distinct form could be a yearning for open discourse— a silent protest if you like— conveyed through formal components of painterly practice instead of directly represented narrative Editor: Understanding that dynamic deepens my appreciation greatly. In observing Holosiy's art with this framework, and by grasping his expressive style, "Hide and Seek" resonates on several emotional, aesthetic and academic dimensions at once. Curator: And for me it reveals so much more about both Ukraine’s fascinating postmodern movement and the ability of art to engage with the undercurrents of political life. Thank you.