(Е-Е) Evgenij Kozlov - Евгений Козлов

Like in other works by Evgenij Kozlov, such as “Anna Karenina II” (1989), we are confronted with a twofold perspective: we look “ahead” to the infinity of space when we focus on the upper part of the body and the face, but we look “down” towards the earth when we look at the legs. The strong centrifugal forces of the view into space are grounded by the legs resting on the earth, which is set apart from the open space by a very low horizon. The horizon of the earth, however, breaks from the horizontal line into a vertical line so that only Valera’s left foot rests on the earth, while the right one remains suspended in mid air.

The missing support for the right foot tends to unbalance the composition. This effect is offset, nevertheless, by the coloured “badge” on the lapel, a main element of the work. The badge is visually supported by the red-brown border that ends in light grey at top and bottom, interspersed with some yellow, red and black spots. The title of the work refers to this very badge, a rectangular piece of paper cut from a magazine, displaying a female portrait and the caption “The Soul present within Things” (“Dusha Veshei”).

The transition in the perspective from space to earth is carried out at the hands. These build up the main centre of gravity within the composition, with two more centres of gravity at the top (head – space) and at the bottom (feet – earth). In addition, the knees and elbows break the vertical organisation of the figure. The figure is therefore structured by a rhythm of folding / unfolding, which makes the antagonism between the two perspectives less apparent.

With a casual composure and serene expression, “Igor” remains untouched by the skeleton hand’s desire. The fiery halo following the shape of Igor’s body to his right might be an indication of Igor’s spiritual forces, like the beams around Valera’s head; the eyes directed to some distant area intensify the sensation of a strong inner independence. The lack of attention he shows towards the bony hand creates a strange feeling of uneasiness in the viewer, similar to the contradictory feelings we have towards ugly, pitiful creatures in fantasy movies who long for help but cannot be trusted. Only that in this case we hold the perspective of this exact creature.

In fact, the careful choice of colour is not merely a question of organising the paintings in a particular way. It is one of several “contrapuntal” elements of style within the sophisticated arrangement of the paintings, of which the “negative look” and the black and white versus colour contrast are only the most evident.

Other elements are:

– Smoothness of paper surface versus geometrical rhythm of rectangular fields of paper
– Soft borders / contours versus sharply outlined borders (lines made with the help of stencils, such as letters, the speech balloon, the line of the horizon; paper strips)
– Soft transitions of white to create volume versus full blackness swallowing space
– Planned structuring versus random features (tiny white dots like spots on the negative film, colour spots on the borders)
– Compositions made for a view from a distance versus details perceptible only at close view, such as the delicate patterns obtained by scratching with the wooden end of the brush into the moist white paint

With these contrapuntal elements, the mysterious blackness of both portraits is rendered transparent and brought to life.