Untitled 

This portrait was made in 1973 by Hryhorii Havrylenko, using the simple combination of pen and ink on paper. The image emerges from the patient application of hatching, a dense network of parallel lines building up areas of tone. This painstaking process has imbued the work with a particular aura. Drawing is usually considered a preliminary activity, in preparation for a ‘finer’ art like painting or sculpture. Yet, this hierarchy dissolves when you consider the sheer labor involved, not to mention the sensitivity and care that defines the work. Consider the subtle gradations across the sitter’s face, or the way her hair falls. All this is rendered with the most minimal of means: a humble pen, wielded with considerable skill. In Ukraine during the Soviet era, drawing may have been seen as a form of quiet resistance, a way to assert individual expression in a world of state control. The image reminds us that artistic value arises from the artist’s touch, not just the materials they use.