Pardon 1988

Oleg Holosiy made this painting, Pardon, using oil on canvas in Ukraine. The muted browns and reds seem to bleed into each other, like memories fading at the edges. It makes me think about how we build up images, layer by layer, almost without knowing it. Look closely, and you can see the paint isn't trying to hide itself. It's smeared and scraped across the surface, thick in some places, almost see-through in others. See how the figure on the right seems to emerge from the gloom, all fiery reds and ragged edges? It's like the artist was wrestling with something, maybe an emotion or an idea, and the painting is what's left after the fight. This reminds me a little of some of Francis Bacon's figures, those raw and vulnerable bodies caught in a moment of turmoil. Holosiy, like Bacon, isn't interested in pretty pictures. He wants to get at something deeper, something unsettling. And maybe that's why it stays with you long after you've walked away.