Arrival of Unknown
Arrival of Unknown | oil on canvas | 120x100cm | year: 2004
“Yellow field, white sky, red edge.
Black mystery on the side.
Brush strokes of force and movement,
Arrival of Unknown, a riddle.”
Description
In the 2004 work “Arrival of Unknown”, a substantial 120×100 cm oil on canvas, Svetlana captures a moment of cosmic or psychological suspension. While in works like Path found stability in horizontal bands, this composition is defined by a more turbulent, diagonal energy and the weight of a looming, celestial form.
The painting is dominated by a weathered, atmospheric palette of ochre, pale yellow, and stony grey. A heavy, arcing grey shape sits in the upper right, hovering over the scene like a low-hanging cloud or a planetary body making its presence felt. Below this, the canvas erupts into a series of frantic, gestural sweeps of white and slate-grey paint that move upward from the bottom left, suggesting a sudden, forceful movement or a “shattering” of the ground.
The tension is heightened by the artist’s signature use of sharp, needle-like red lines that slash through the thicker paint. These marks, along with small, isolated shocks of blue, act as the “unknown” elements of the title—intrusions of vibrant, piercing energy into an otherwise muted and ancient-feeling topography.
