Composition 1970

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this untitled composition using pencil on paper sometime during his lifetime. The marks, made with graphite, are all this drawing has. Yet, through subtle gradations of tone, the artist conjures a powerful sense of depth. Look closely, and you can see the many, many hours of labor that went into this seemingly simple image. Cross-hatching and controlled pressure create the delicate shifts from light to dark. The artist’s hand moved slowly and deliberately across the page to achieve this effect. Havrylenko's choice of humble materials—paper and pencil—speaks volumes, particularly when considering his place within the Soviet system, where artists had to decide if they were going to create what the state wanted, or make something that came from within. This drawing, with its determined mark-making, elevates process over product, demonstrating how even the simplest materials can become powerful tools of expression. By understanding the labor and context embedded in this work, we appreciate its deeper social and cultural significance.