We are thrilled to present Olex Wlasenko’s new exhibition with Abbozzo Gallery, Holding Still. Using charcoal and only his index finger, he creates cinematic scenes depicting intense moments filled with contrast and mystery.

My studio production focuses on a personal and investigative discourse surrounding drawing’s relationship to lens based media (i.e. photography, cinema) in modern culture. I use only one tool—my index finger. I manually rub the pigment or powdered charcoal into the surface of the paper. This technique gives the most dexterity and somehow the warmth of the hand transfers to each drawing. Inspiration is teased from the pages of history or reels of film. The images I draw from surface from the vast well-spring of historical sources. These can be vintage visual documents such as books, archives or old movies. This fascination with cinema stems from my upbringing. My father was an avid collector of Ukrainian cinema.