Who,What 2006

Aleksandr Borodin’s painting, "Who,What," presents us with a surreal scene of two figures flanking a central, masked character, all rendered with meticulous detail. The palette is muted, yet the composition brims with symbolic weight. I imagine Borodin, in his studio, carefully layering the paint, building up the texture to create a dreamlike tableau. There is a quiet, studied approach in the smooth surfaces of the skin and the crisp edges of the books. I can see him thinking about our human quest for answers, laying bare this curiosity in the questions emblazoned on the book covers. The stack of books becomes a metaphor for the layers of inquiry we navigate. The two-faced jester at the center, bisected with green and white, appears to be reading, trapped between the book and his own doubleness. It's as if Borodin is asking us to consider the many faces we present to the world. Borodin invites us to think about who we are, what we seek, and what we find in our search for understanding. Painting is asking a question, and Borodin has asked us plenty.