Mirrh Streaming 2010

Arsen Savadov made this painting, Mirrh Streaming, with an expressive brush and what seems like a theatrical sensibility. The layered washes and drippy strokes create this sense of motion, like the whole scene is vibrating. Look at the way Savadov handles the paint around the figures. It's thin and washy in some spots, almost like a watercolor, and thicker and more opaque in others, creating this real sense of depth. Then you have these light pink colours around the dancers that make you think of Degas. But then, bam, there are all those bottles full of some weird yellow substance – it makes no sense. The drips and splatters are so important here; they create this feeling of something spilling over, both literally and figuratively. It reminds me a little bit of Kiefer, but maybe more playful? For me, it's a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation, a back-and-forth between artists and ideas, and it's all held together through our looking.