March 1980

Oleksandr Aksinin made this small, intricate drawing, titled "March", on paper with ink in 1980. It’s a world built from tiny marks and patterns, a testament to process itself. Aksinin’s work, at first glance, seems to just be a detailed drawing. But look closer, and you’ll see how the artist uses texture and density to create space. The hatching of the ink creates this overall green hue, but it's the variation in the layering which makes depth. See how the figures are placed in a diamond, itself surrounded by an oval with repeated figures embedded within it. It reminds me of the work of Paul Klee, where you get the sense of the artist building up an imaginary world, one small mark at a time. Neither Klee or Aksinin are chasing after perfection, but instead celebrating the endless possibilities that emerge from letting line lead the way.