Balbesin upbringing 1987

Vasiliy Ryabchenko's "Balbesin upbringing" is an oil on canvas with dimensions of 110 x 110 cm. Look at the figures and the ground, worked and reworked, emerging from a background of orange, brown, purple and teal. It feels like Ryabchenko has built up the composition through layers of washes and strokes, intuitively responding to the emerging image, wiping away some areas to reveal earlier marks and colors. I wonder what he was thinking about when he made it? The texture of the paint varies from thin glazes to thicker applications, creating a dynamic surface. See that figure on the left? It seems to be holding a spear. The colors and the way he applies the paint gives this figure a strong sense of movement. Ryabchenko is in conversation with many artists who have explored figuration, from the old masters to contemporary painters, inspiring each other’s creativity. Like them, Ryabchenko embraces ambiguity, leaving much open to interpretation and resisting fixed meanings.