The wounded Kirasser Leaving the Field of Battle 2008

The Wounded Kirasser Leaving the Field of Battle was painted by Alexander Roitburd. Looking at it, I’m struck by the feeling that art-making is a process of excavation. The painting feels like it's uncovering layers, revealing a history of gestures and decisions. The paint here is thick, almost sculptural in places, and then scraped back, leaving ghostly traces. Note the way the artist renders the wounded man; a figure overwhelmed with symbolic forms. There’s something about the juxtaposition of the highly rendered face and loosely described body that grabs my attention. It feels as though the artist is trying to show us the inner turmoil of the subject. There is something of Francis Bacon in the way the picture plane is pushed and pulled, but also something playful about the way the artist uses line in a similar way to Basquiat. It feels like art is just an ongoing conversation. It is about embracing ambiguity and accepting that there isn't one correct meaning.