Three women 1902

Filipp Malyavin captured these three women with oil on canvas; they loom out of the darkness, commanding our attention. I can imagine Malyavin working on this monumental piece, wrestling with those dark shadows to bring those dynamic figures forward. The physicality of paint is everywhere here. Just look at the thick brushstrokes that build up their garments, particularly the woman on the right, whose red dress seems to radiate with its own internal light. There's a tension between abstraction and figuration that really grips me: Malyavin used the materiality of oil paint to make something solid, but it's also like the figures could disappear back into the night at any moment. This reminds me of so many artists dealing with the push and pull of representation, from the Expressionists to contemporary painters who embrace gesture and process. It’s all a kind of conversation across time, with each artist responding to what came before and pushing painting in new directions. Ultimately, it's about using paint to explore feeling, emotion, and the many ways we see and experience the world.