Four Poplars 1970

Curator: Volodymyr Loboda's "Four Poplars," created in 1970 using acrylic paint, immediately strikes me as a study in contrasts. The stark, dark backdrop accentuates the almost luminescent quality of the trees themselves. Editor: Yes, the contrast is quite intentional. It almost isolates each tree, turning them into distinct figures against an indefinite night. The intense colours against the dark background bring a vibrant organic feel, set against the stylised approach, of course. Curator: Precisely! There’s a modern touch here, especially the way the tree trunks are simplified to blocks of color, overlaid with linear paintstrokes. The foliage exhibits a controlled palette. There’s not a burst of uncontrolled brushwork here. Editor: Considering this piece originates from 1970, that conscious effort to stylize landscape fits squarely within modernism’s ongoing project. After periods of deconstruction and periods of abstraction, we saw movements looking back to older, figurative styles, using modern visual tools and fresh contexts. Curator: Looking closer at Loboda's painting, the deliberate outlining in bright blue around the forms adds an ethereal quality, while the strokes of varied colours create volume through calculated highlights and shadows. Editor: One may be drawn to wonder if that stark contrast is commenting on the status of Ukraine at that point in history. A new form of hope, presented in somewhat industrial terms? In Soviet Ukraine, where landscapes were so often idealized in art, this bold take feels disruptive. Curator: That interpretation, I think, makes so much sense in how the very conscious form in the painting acts against the organic subject. Editor: Indeed. I think considering his social circumstances will enable each observer of the painting to build upon the inherent contrast of the piece in productive ways. Curator: A fitting intersection of artistic intention and broader meaning. It gives a structure to our perception of these forms that extends far beyond the merely representational. Editor: Definitely something to meditate on while examining "Four Poplars".