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Legalization of Tenderness
Kostyantyn Doroshenko
The young Kyiv gallery Sun, with the exhibition of The Other, presents the works of Michael Murphenko. His art is very sincere and not similar to local mainstream contemporary art. The picturesque manner and vividness of Michael will remind connoisseurs of the tradition of European modernism, in particular — Edward Munch. But Murphenko is not a master of postmodern appropriation. He is simply very natural. And thus he is very contemporary.
Recall the finale to Tarantino’s «Kill Bill»: it was the most humane and tender of all possible images - Mother and Child. Tenderness conquers anxiety. The dialogue of these senses also appears in the exhibition of Michael — in the prickly black and white graphics and soft colorful paintings. In them, as well as in his own personality, the artist combines beginnings, usually considered incompatible — convincing intelligence and defenseless emotion. The result is the legalization of tenderness not as weakness, but as force, which neutralizes fear and the mistrust of life. This means – approaching happiness and the return of faith. Because faith and happiness are impossible without trust — trust in God, in life, in the other, in oneself.
[Profile Magazine, # 28, 2006]
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