Description: 24 x 18 inches.
Black ink on Cansom drawing acid free paper 50lb.
NO frame. NO matt.
DRAWINGS
Ruslan Khais works in a variety of media--oils, acrylics and such - but he's at his best when he pulls out his inkbottle, a small plastic container with a long, thin spout, and holds it between his thumb and forefinger. Using that nontraditional, unbrushlike device, he dribbles in or paint, allowing colors to mix as if they had a mind of their own. It's a fascinating process, one that releases trails of black, white, gold and more as if spontaneity was both Khais's goal and muse.
Of course, it's all under control. The product starts out calligraphic and often ends up organic, ice cream swirls among the licorice. The technique recalls the abstract expressionists, except the Khais's expressionism is less abstract, his nudes (all from live models) recognizable as such as they twist and dance across his surfaces. Even on the wall, they as fluid --a reasonable word to us - as when he created them.
Art Spicol
Journalist
Former Editor of The Philadelphia Magazine