In Large compositions, rendered in
wide, bold brushstrokes and pure colors, remind us of André Derain’s
fauvism or of Matisse. One is compelled to get closer, to immerse into
this dynamic universe, fascinated by the aura of energy and the vibrant
touch, to examine the buoyancy of color, and to understand more about
the mastery of the artist who was able to create them. The universe
which Leon Oks introduces us to is a joyful and energetic one, of
luscious primary colors and shapes which coalesce to create a form which
is new but in the same time strangely familiar. At a closer look, some
of the paintings are almost figurative, but the silhouettes are not the
ones we are accustomed to see; they have reminisce natural forms which
seem to be floating into an almost primordial movement, linked to the
fundamental rhythms of life, and trigger an almost unconscious response
from us, that connects us to the same movement.
Oks was born in the Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, and like many
other artists that lived in a society where the focus of official
culture was not to explore the beauty of inner life and the meanders of
imagination, but to create mobilizing slogans which proved to be
ultimately meaningless, felt the need to express what he felt and not
what he was required to feel. The result was that his first exhibition,
where he presented to the public his beautiful landscapes and
compositions, was quickly censored and more than half of his paintings
were removed before the public was allowed in. For an artist that had
dedicated his existence to beauty, this was not a deterrent. On the
contrary, it was proof that he had indeed struck a sensitive a chord,
which the system acknowledged as damaging to the official policy, and
that the road he had taken was not an easy one, but it was certainly one
worth pursuing, because it was a pilgrimage towards unaltered beauty and
towards sharing it with everyone that had enough courage to be willing
to undertake the same journey. By removing his paintings, the officials
acknowledged something Oks must have already known subconsciously: that
beauty and especially artistic freedom represent a threat to any
repressive society. Denying access to it is the quickest way to enslave
a person, and the artist is a free spirit by nature. It was also a
lesson about life and relationships, about the solitude and
relentlessness of the creator: believing in himself was always what gave
him the strength to pursue his gift, and what enabled him to share it
with others, then and today.
Just like Chagall created his mythical village, which remains in the
history of art as the space where the laws of reality are suspended so
that a new reality, seen through different eyes, can take shape in its
own rights, so Oks re-creates for all of us to experience his childhood
town in an incredible series of dreamy paintings, whose quiet charm will
never cease to fascinate us. “My Childhood Memories” is a gift that the
artist selflessly shares with everyone, by offering us the opportunity
to experience something we’ll never be able to forget. It is a
fascinating experience to see how this universe, depicted in paintings
such as ‘Path to My Childhood Town’, about which we sometimes read in
history books, can be seen simultaneously both through the eyes of the
child who had to deal with the harsh realities of life, with moving from
one place to another in an attempt to find a place in a country torn by
war, and having to deal with the role of the man too early in life, but
also through the eyes of the adult who reminisces about the difficult
times and in the same time manages to filter these experiences and to
re-connect again and again to the beauty of a life and a landscape,
without and hard feelings.
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The reverence for nature and the
landscape where he grew up, which is a recurrent theme in his paintings,
is in competition only with his deep admiration for women. The female
figure is another one of his ubiquitous subjects, and it is not a
particular woman, but the concept of womanhood itself and the underlying
connection between the female symbolism and nature, the primordial
rhythms of life, that is in the focus of the artist, in paintings such
as ‘Sunset Dance’, ‘Sound of Silence’, or ‘Orchard’. Known for his
preference to work with models, Oks represents the female not as a
subject, but more as a primordial energy, who is also a catalyst for his
art, resplendent in a beauty that transcends boundaries. The
representation of the female form is a nexus of flowing lines and
swirling color, who only serves to emphasize the fact that She is at the
center of creation, and essential to our survival as a species.
Leon Oks strongly believes that the main appeal of his artwork stems
mainly from the fact that it encourages the viewer to transcend reality
every single time, in order to bring together in the mix valuable
personal emotions, which serve to activate the hidden layers of meaning
encoded in each painting: his artwork encourages the viewers to deal
with their own emotions and visions and shape each painting into a
personal journey, to unblock thoughts that one might not even be aware
of. It is not only a viewing experience, but more likely a dynamic
relationship between the artist and his public, who must be willing to
work together. That means also being able to perceive and purge the
inner tension which comes across, and which has been sublimated by the
artist through the act of creation. Encouraging such a deconstructivist
interpretation of his artwork is proof that Oks is not afraid now, more
than ever, of what the audience might tell him, but on the contrary, is
looking forward to the input because it can only mean an enrichment of
his own creation by allowing multiple readings.
Oks’ paintings are standing proof, if one needs any, that while his life
was dedicated to artwork, he also felt that it is his duty to share this
vision with the ones that were fortunate enough to be able to appreciate
it. The freedom the artist experienced when he moved to the US in 1980
was an unexpected chance to explore at the full extent the themes that
had been of interest for him all through his lifetime, and one can feel
that despite the dark moments in his past, he remained forever an
optimist, and with every brushstroke, every shade of green, blue, or
purple, every silhouette, every little house and every tree, every
silhouette who coalesces from the vivid background, his paintings seem
are an ode to the beauty of life and celebrate the freedom of the artist
that transcends the boundaries of time.
More than ever, in a world which is invaded by the digitized image, by
the copy of a copy of a copy, one feels the need to see painting in the
tradition of the great masters, one that preserves, as Walter Benjamin
explained, the aura of originality. And this is what Leon Oks generously
offers us: not a digital print, or a collage, one that is just a copy of
something we have seen in a hundred other places. On the contrary, it is
exactly this originality which stems from every brushstroke that is so
fascinating, and the pulse of an artist who is always there, ready to
take the next challenge.
©
Dana Mann
New York, June 11, 2006
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