Untitled 2022

Alevtyna Kakhidze made this drawing in April 2022. It's a diptych of sorts, pairing a Russian artist with a Ukrainian artist. I wonder what Kakhidze was thinking when she made this, if it was a quick sketch from life, or something she pondered over time? On the left we see an artist that resembles Matisse. The image is coupled with the line, ‘Matisse drew flowers if he were you.’ On the right, a soldier with a gun stands next to a canvas. The artist seems to be thinking about the position of the artist in times of war: what to do, and what to paint? The loose, naive style of the drawing, combined with the gravity of the subject matter, remind me of outsider art, or folk art. There is something very direct and unaffected in its message, which conveys feeling, intention, and meaning. This piece acts like a proposition and a question, contributing to an ongoing conversation between artists across time.