Untitled 2022

This drawing was made in April 2022 by Alevtyna Kakhidze. She uses this wonderful, almost childlike, hand to suggest a complex political situation. I love the way the artist uses line here. The Russian artist has a few scribbles for a beard, but is mainly defined by one continuous outline of their body. In comparison, the Ukrainian artist is drawn with more care and has a camo jacket and rifle with a red stock. It makes me think about process, and how even the smallest mark can be so meaningful. The red text coming from the Russian artist’s mouth makes me consider how the intention of an artist can be received in completely different ways. This feels like a conversation between Matisse and, say, Otto Dix, about whether to paint flowers or the horrors of war. The drawing is raw, but there's also a deeply human quality to it. It reminds us that art is always part of a larger conversation, full of messy ambiguity.