Painting Compression of Time, artist Oleksandr Yatsenko

• Artist: Oleksandr Yatsenko
• Title: "Compression of Time"
• Year: 2020
• Size: 140 × 140 cm
• Materials: acrylic on canvas
• Original hand-painted artwork

"Compression of Time" is a square geometric abstraction. A large circle, almost touching the edges of the canvas, is set against a grey-blue background. Inside it is a complex structure of many triangles radiating from the centre and intersecting to form multi-pointed stars, rhombuses and fan-shaped sectors. The composition recalls the pattern of a kaleidoscope, the cut of a gemstone or the rose window of a cathedral. Along its edge the circle is framed by a narrow ring of segments with a metallic sheen, like the rim of a lens or a polished hoop. All the lines converge on a single point in the centre, giving the feeling that space and time are being drawn towards it and compressed into a dense crystal.

The work is painted in acrylic on canvas. The artist works with clean planes and crisp, graphically precise edges, while inside many of the triangles he creates smooth colour gradients that imitate the gleam of metal, reflections on glass or the shimmer of mother-of-pearl. Some facets are filled with marbled swirls of dark red, olive and green with a mottled texture — they create a sense of depth and vary the strict geometry. The background is worked in light glazes through which the texture of the canvas shows. The precision of the construction brings the work close to graphic drawing, while the painterly treatment of the facets makes it warm and three-dimensional. No facet exactly repeats its neighbour, so for all the strictness of the scheme the pattern remains lively and handmade.

The palette is restrained and refined: peach, apricot, cream, lavender and grey-lilac sit alongside golden, bronze and olive tones. Dark accents — burgundy, deep green and inky violet triangles — give the composition rhythm and keep the lighter shades from dissolving. The calm grey background balances the saturation of the circle. The mood of the painting is focused and meditative; it pulls the eye towards the centre and invites it to linger there. As the light changes, the metallic gradients on the facets flare up and fade, so the painting looks different in the morning and in the evening.

Oleksandr Yatsenko is a contemporary Ukrainian painter, born in 1980 in Cherkasy, who lives and works in Kyiv. In 2007 he graduated from the painting faculty of the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture. One of the key themes of his work is the link between microscopic structures and cosmic scales, and in his paintings natural forms often turn into complex ornamental compositions.

The square 140 × 140 cm format allows the painting to become the centrepiece of a living room above a sofa, a spacious study, a meeting room or an office lobby. The neutral grey background and warm peach and gold tones go well with Scandinavian, minimalist and loft interiors, light wood furniture and textiles in mustard or sand colours. The work will make a fine gift for a man who appreciates geometry and order, and for a partner or colleague as a symbol of precision and concentration.