Bakhchisarai, Palace baths 1963

Yuriy Khymych made this painting of Bakhchisarai Palace baths with what looks like gouache, sometime in the 20th century, and you can really see the hand of the artist. I love how he’s used these big, flat areas of color to build up the image – it's a really process-oriented way of working, where the painting becomes a record of the decisions the artist made along the way. Look at the ochre wall and the way it dominates the foreground; it's almost like a stage set. The paint is opaque and the texture is pretty smooth, but you can still see the marks of the brush. The rhythmic repetition of the orange roof tiles really draws you in, like a musical score. It reminds me a bit of Milton Avery, in the way that he simplifies forms and uses color to create atmosphere, and the conversation between them feels fresh. Ultimately, art isn't about fixed meanings; it's about the ongoing exchange of ideas.