Spring mood

Andrey Ostashov • Special Issue, 2019
Bronze, granite. 82?38, h=91cm

This work bears a compositional resemblance to the sculpture Tying the Skates, though while that piece carries a festive winter motif, here one senses a vernal blossoming. The subject, on one hand, evokes an extraterrestrial being, yet on the other, she possesses an innate natural quality—like a nymph embodying the earth’s awakening after the winter chill.
Despite the title Spring Mood, which typically suggests a joyful and warm impression of the season’s arrival, that specific sentiment is absent here. The girl is seated upon a curious elevation, her legs stretched forward and her hands resting upon her knees; her facial expression is pensive, tinged with a touch of sadness or reverie. She is attired in a high-necked, full-length dress that accentuates her face. The artist has given her hair a fantastical form, as if it were a natural extension of her body. That very "spring mood" is conveyed through her posture—there is a palpable sense of lightness and freedom, as if the young nymph has paused to bask in the warm spring sun, and the master has captured her in this dreamlike moment.