Deep Sorcery

Andriy Levytsky, a graphic artist of Kyiv, held a personal exhibit at the Tadzio Gallery. He titled it Intaglio (incised carving, as opposed to carving in relief). Levytsky’s most characteristic works are long and narrow horizontal friezes with titles marked by stark simplicity and, at the same time, marginally voluminous contents (e.g., Letters; Road to the City; View of a Beautiful Tree ). The overall impression is of being offered several viewpoints on various aspects of a single work; the friezes are shimmering with light. This is a technical aspect of the intaglio technique, in the first place. However, this quality is expressive, most likely, for Andriy Levytsky’s colleagues — and not all of them at that, just for the gourmet graphic artists capable of appreciating all of the nuances of his sorcery brought to fruition (using the artist’s expression). Simple mortals are more likely to marvel at the gold leaf embellishing almost every frieze. Second, a fleeting — rather, a naked eye’s — look reveals a degree of finesse that appears somewhat melancholic, but with a perfect, almost musical structure of a markedly sophisticated, whimsical if not chimerical composition, which, nevertheless leaves one with the impression of an inherently harmonious and architecturally faultless construction. Third and last, the details (these require an armed eye). The details of Andriy Levytsky’s friezes remind one of refined metalwork decorations, with sharp edges. The engraving’s space intertwines them patiently and chimerically. Depending on the plot, they look like a wrought iron fence or an ancient multilayer weathervane, even as some fantastic ecological architecture or vines. Levytsky, however, treats his friezes as befits a latter-day postmodernist artist. His prints are very subjective, sometimes obviously encoded, but which can be simultaneously interpreted in practically any direction.