Information about the work
Mythological themes, symbolic imagery, and biting irony define the creative style of this Odesa nonconformist in the late 1980s, as reflected in the canvas Abundance [Dostatok] (oil on canvas, assemblage, 1987; acquired directly from the artist for the Sumy Regional Art Museum collection in 1990). Executed in a soft, almost watercolor-like manner, the composition combines features of decorative figurative interpretation with painterly improvisation. One senses the influence of folk stylization, albeit without strict ornamentality. The work is framed by a symbolic and ironic context.
Positioned above a low, wide vase is a stylized depiction of a parrot clutching a large stack of newsprint sheets in its claws. Resting atop the vase is a package of indefinite shape bound with ribbon. Across the entire picture plane, fragments of words and expressions from the Soviet newspaper Pravda are legible in both large and small type face. Central to the composition are the parrot and the vase—rendered in relief with white paint—filled to overflowing with bundles and various paper scraps. The composition is self-contained yet closed, while the white figurative motifs dissolve effortlessly into the light, blurred background.
Pastel, muted shades of yellow, purple, and orange—accented with minor touches of green and red—serve as vital highlights that lend vitality to the composition. Owing to the complex painting technique, the light surface of the vase—with its soft, raised structural lines and subtle color transitions—resembles porcelain decorated with underglaze painting. Instead of a traditional pattern, the author ornaments the vase with text fragments and isolated letters “torn” from the leading Soviet publication. The artist intentionally constructs a narrative in which irony intertwines with profound thought.
The parrot carries multilayered symbolic weight. Through its ability to mimic human speech, it is traditionally regarded as a symbol of communication and eloquence. Conversely, the bird symbolizes empty chatter, arrogance, and ostentation, exuding a sense of internal complacency. Third, it embodies the mindless repetition of others’ words or ideas in the absence of independent thought. Finally, the bird acts as a symbol of false abundance—yet what kind of abundance? This is precisely the question the artist addresses. The emotion here is not internal, but projected outward in an almost caricatured fashion. “Abundance” made of newsprint, overflowing “over the brim,” becomes the very frame masking a stark truth about the reality of the era in which the artist worked. Combining deep personal experience with powerful energy, Lucien Dulfan creates art that forces one to think and to feel.