Female image 1964

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this drawing of a female image with ink on paper. Just look at the approach to mark-making in this piece, the criss-cross hatching building tone on a pretty basic ground. It shows you that artmaking is really about a process, and not the sophistication of your materials! The texture here is all implied through the linear quality of the ink. The density of those lines creates a sense of shadow and volume, while the stark contrast against the white of the paper gives it a graphic punch. There is one particular area, right below the breast, where the artist created a shadow using a heavier hatching than elsewhere in the picture. I wonder what mood the artist was trying to convey through that detail, and how the choice of that particular spot contributes to the piece as a whole? Havrylenko’s work reminds me a little of Matisse’s line drawings – simple, but full of expression. There’s a similar confidence in the line, a belief that less can be more. And that’s the beauty of art, isn’t it? There’s always more than one way to see things, and the more you look, the more you find.