Kyiv Football 2015

Danil Nemirovsky's 'Kyiv Football' is made with acrylic, and the directness of his brushwork really makes the process visible. Look at the way the painting is built from flat planes and bold, outlined shapes; it has a kind of graphic punch. I find myself focusing on the players. There is a player with a number '7' on his back, and another with the number '9'. They are constructed with flat blocks of ochre, green, and black, but their simplified geometric forms don't obscure the reality of the game, where human figures are compressed and distorted in the heat of competition. The sharp angles and clashing colors really amp up the sense of movement and tension, don’t they? There’s something almost childlike in the way it’s put together that reminds me of Fernand Léger, who also used simplified forms and bold colors to capture the energy of modern life. Ultimately, 'Kyiv Football' is a great example of how painting can be both a representation of the world and a world of its own.