(In Dialogue with the Silence of Nicolas Party) by Mariia Manuіlenko
In contemporary art, pastel is often associated with escape — from sharp themes, from conceptual excess, from the overwhelming noise of the world. This is precisely how we see it in the work of Nicolas Party, where soft lines and pure colors create a space of aesthetic calm, timelessness, and detachment.
But pastel can speak differently. It can be not a comforting veil, but an exposed nerve. This is how Olexander Anokhin approaches the medium — using pastel not as a means of retreat, but as a tool for confronting the raw presence of reality.
Anokhin operates at the intersection of the mundane and the absurd. His scenes depict fragments of daily life, yet every detail hums with quiet unease. Figures frozen in unnatural poses, caught in moments where routine existence fractures. His visual language blends realistic objects with psychological tension — found not in overt drama, but in gestures, gazes, and unsettling color harmonies.
For Anokhin, pastel is not about lightness. It’s about the weight of the unseen — the mental scars left by war, even when the setting appears ordinary.
“Ordinary events with an unusual aftertaste” — this is how the artist describes his work. That subtle line between normalcy and inner rupture defines his artistic narrative.
His return to art was not a choice, but a necessity born of crisis. The war in Ukraine became both a catalyst and a framework for reflection. His canvases function as therapy and diagnosis alike — capturing the state of a person striving to maintain a sense of self amid constant anxiety.
Unlike Party’s universal, “sterile” figures that evoke timeless ideals, Anokhin speaks of the here and now — of individuals learning to exist within ongoing uncertainty.
The phenomenon of Olexander Anokhin lies in his honesty. There is no pretense, no heavy conceptual layering. His art aches — but through that ache, it offers viewers a mirror to their own fears, losses, and fragile hopes.
Anokhin’s pastel is the language of a generation learning how to live after the familiar world has collapsed.
