Living Matter 1965

Curator: Standing before us is Valerii Lamakh's "Living Matter," a captivating oil painting created in 1965. It’s a beautiful example of matter painting. Editor: My first thought? Textural—almost violently so! It's like looking at primordial earth or the surface of a newly formed planet. All that thick, impasto paint—you practically feel the artwork. Curator: Absolutely. Lamakh's use of impasto really emphasizes the physicality of paint itself, blurring the lines between representation and pure materiality. It emerged in an interesting socio-political context. In the Khrushchev Thaw era in the Soviet Union there was space for artists like Lamakh to explore abstraction. Do you see this connection to abstraction in this work? Editor: Definitely. The title hints at something alive, vital, but there’s nothing representational here. It’s feeling made visible. I imagine the studio space when he was creating this—the raw energy, the slathering of paint, a wrestling with something just beyond grasp. Curator: He really embraced the “organic abstraction,” exploring texture and form over traditional representational approaches. The dark colors lend it an introspective and serious mood. We're invited to look inward, maybe contemplating our own existence or place within this 'living matter.' Editor: The center almost glows, doesn’t it? Like embers barely contained by the darker, crustier elements around it. There's struggle, but also, potential… perhaps a hopefulness fighting to break through. And look closer: Flecks of red and blue punctuate the brown, a vibrant pulse beneath the surface. I wonder what led Lamakh to those spots of color? Was this pure creative decision? Curator: Perhaps. Considering his broader career, Lamakh also integrated avant-garde movements with Ukrainian traditions, so that could have certainly contributed to his decisions here. This fusion allowed for personal interpretation and cultural reevaluation which was quite radical in Soviet art at the time. Editor: In a way, the work becomes a testament to resilience and reinvention. The heavy texture and somewhat restrained palette evoke introspection, prompting us to appreciate the subtleties and complexities within 'living matter’ itself, artistically and existentially speaking. Curator: Precisely, a space for finding yourself. Reflecting on “Living Matter," I’m reminded of art’s enduring ability to hold these complex dialogues about culture and existence. Editor: And for me, it's a potent reminder that even within the heaviest textures, the smallest details can contain sparks of defiant, hopeful brilliance.