Information about the work
The canvas Wicket Gate [Khvirtka] (canvas, oil, 1989; transferred to the Sumy Regional Art Museum collection in 1990) leans toward an expressive landscape with elements of generalization and decorativeness, bringing it closer to the traditions of Expressionism and, in part, Post-Expressionism. The center of the composition is occupied by a wooden wicket gate, acting as a kind of axis of symmetry. At the same time, the lines of the surrounding fence are unbalanced, distorted, and “alive,” creating dynamic tension within the picture. The space is constructed through a layering of planes: the foreground features a yellow path, the middle ground holds the structure of the “kinetic” fence, and the background contains a generalized landscape.
The work exhibits features of decorativeness and emotional tension, where form is subordinated to the expression of an inner state. The coloristic solution is vivid and contrast-driven: the combination of deep green, red, and yellow planes generates emotional intensity. Red acts as a vibrant accent, while green establishes the surrounding environment, and yellow introduces light. Color here serves not so much to depict reality as to convey an emotional state. The light is diffused and “dissolved.” The brushstroke is broad and impasto, carrying a palpable physical quality that heightens expression and endows the work with texture. Forms are generalized and, in places, deformed. The artist moves away from naturalism in favor of expressiveness. Through broken and at times nervous lines, the author emphasizes motion and the instability of temporal processes.
The iconic and widely used motif of the “wicket gate” among artists is interpreted philosophically. It is not about everyday life or the fence as an object, but about a threshold—where, standing before the gate, one cannot tell whether it marks an entrance or an exit. The composition has a closed character; the viewer’s gaze is “contained” within the boundaries of the image. The motif of the gate can symbolize a boundary—between the familiar and the unknown—or a transition between spaces, internal and external. At the same time, the absence of human figures shifts the focus onto the state of nature as a carrier of emotion, yet the human presence remains palpable within the painting. The landscape is perceived as a subjective experience. It is an emotionally charged work in which the central role belongs not to the representation of reality, but to the transmission of mood through color, brushwork, and the deformation of form.