Old man with a star 1991

Oleg Holosiy made this painting, Old man with a star, with what looks like oil paint. It's as though this scene has been caught in the dead of night, but then again, the painting process could have been a murky exploration in itself. I can imagine Oleg, a young artist painting an old man, maybe even imagining himself as that old man. In the painting the character is in a state of existential contemplation, the face lifted towards a barely visible star – or is it a streetlight? Is he hoping for something, or just observing? Maybe Holosiy was trying to imagine a future self, older and wiser, but still searching for meaning in the darkness. The swipes of muted colour, thick in some places, capture the emotional intensity of the moment. Artists like Holosiy invite us to embrace painting as an act of inquiry, where the canvas becomes a site for exploring our deepest questions and uncertainties. It feels like we are all in this together.