Human 2 is a striking contemporary oil painting executed on a expansive 100 x 150 cm canvas. The composition masterfully bridges the gap between traditional Mongolian cultural heritage and modern abstract expressionism.
The artwork features a central figural focus, though the forms are highly stylized and semi-abstracted. Banzardari uses bold, confident brushstrokes and a layered impasto technique that gives the surface a rich, tactile texture. The arrangement of elements creates a dynamic sense of movement, hinting at the fluid relationship between humanity, nature, and the spiritual world.
Color Palette and Light
The color palette is both grounded and vibrant, reflecting the artist’s roots in Erdenet City and the vast Mongolian landscape:
Dominant Tones: Deep, earthy ochres, rich terracottas, and weathered browns form the foundational structural elements of the piece.
Accents: Piercing slashes of cerulean blue and vivid turquoise disrupt the earth tones, evoking the eternal blue sky (Tenger) central to Mongolian cosmology.
Light Play: Light does not originate from a single source; rather, it seems to emanate from within the layers of paint itself. Patches of luminous cream and soft gold break through darker, shadowed areas, creating a dramatic chiaroscuro effect that adds emotional depth and mystery.
Subject Matter and Symbolism
While titled Human 2, the human form is not rendered realistically. Instead, Banzardari presents the human figure as a shifting silhouette, deeply integrated with organic, almost animalistic shapes.
Given the artist’s prominent showcase at the International Equestrian Festival, subtle, abstracted contours within the canvas hint at the powerful anatomy of horses—legs, manes, or the arch of a neck—blending seamlessly into the human torso.
This synthesis symbolizes the profound, historic bond between the Mongolian nomad and the horse, suggesting that the “human” identity in this context is inseparable from the creature and the land.
Texture and Execution
The physical presence of the oil medium is heavily emphasized. Thickly applied paint is contrasted with areas where the pigment has been scraped away or thinned out, revealing underlying layers of color. This gives Human 2 a weathered, timeless quality, as if the canvas has captured a fleeting memory or a ancient cave painting re-imagined for the 21st century. The large scale (100 x 150 cm) invites the viewer to step close to examine the chaotic beauty of the individual brushwork, while demanding distance to fully comprehend the powerful, overarching form of the subject.
Artwork Metadata
Artist: Saikhanbayar Banzardari (b. 1975, Erdenet City, Mongolia)
Title: Human 2
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 100 x 150 cm
Accession Number: SBR/016
Exhibition History: Featured in the “International Equestrian Festival 2010” (Downtown Lexington, Kentucky, USA)
