Youth 1915

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin made ‘Youth’ using thin washes of color to create a sense of form and space. It is so intriguing how the artist makes something that feels unfinished seem complete. Look at how he's built up the colours to create shadows, particularly in the pile of what could be rocks to the left of the figure. The colors seem to bleed into one another, like a watercolour, yet the sharp black lines of the figure remind us that this is also a drawing. I love the way the artist uses these lines to give the work definition without closing it in. See how the single stroke for the figure's right leg makes it both present and absent. It is a wonderful moment of ambiguity. There is an undeniable Russian quality, a folk art sensibility which reminds me of Natalia Goncharova, someone else who wasn’t afraid to leave things open-ended. This piece feels timeless because it embraces imperfection; it’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, never a final statement.