Milky Way 2021

Editor: Here we have Pavlo Makov’s "Milky Way," a 2021 drawing rendered in graphite on paper. The monochromatic palette gives the work an intense, almost melancholic feeling. All these small white circles that reminds me of something exploding! What am I supposed to take away from this constellation of… of what? What do you see here? Curator: Exploding, yes, perhaps an implosion too? For me, "Milky Way" conjures the infinite, doesn't it? Those points of light set against that somber background… they whisper of possibilities and futures. It feels like an atlas of something unknown – a city from above, the cosmos from below. Do you feel the invitation to find order in chaos, a rhythm? Editor: Definitely rhythm. I'm also noticing the texture. It's almost rough. You can see the layers. It contrasts against the delicate, seemingly floating circles of light. Curator: Ah, the tension of textures! That rawness… Makov, a Ukrainian artist, is working from a place deeply scarred by conflict. This isn't just an aesthetic exercise, I think; it’s an emotional map, maybe a kind of personal resistance against disintegration. The way these forms repeat… doesn't that suggest fragility alongside the aspiration of some greater unity? Editor: Unity out of destruction. Yes. I can see that tension playing out in my mind now. I had looked at it as a very minimal monochrome image but seeing it now… gives me chills! Curator: Doesn't it make you wonder what other worlds – or ways of seeing – are hidden within seemingly simple forms? It has taught me how much I learn just by slowing down! Editor: I'm leaving this artwork more humbled by my earlier thoughts and perceptions, ready to reflect!