Information about the work
The painting Bouquet [Buket] (oil on cardboard, 1986; transferred to the Khmelnytskyi Regional Art Museum collection by the Directorate of Art Exhibitions of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine in 1989) is a generalized, uncluttered still life set against a fragment of an urban cityscape. The still life setup was likely arranged before a window in the artist’s studio. Her painterly style reveals a synthesis of contemporary painting and mural practices. Overall, the canvas impresses with its compositional conciseness and refinement, balanced by a restrained color palette rich in subtle nuances.
“Olena’s painting is refined to the point of sophistication. Her compositions draw the eye through the nobility of black-and-grey tones, subtly muted and tamed by an olive-ochre glaze patina. One finds no unmixed colors or pure paint here. Passion resides within the elaborated surface of the canvas, surging beneath a cultured layer of peaceful color and sending true artistic energy to the viewer through sharp gleams of underpainting in red, blue, and emerald dashes and splashes,” writes art critic Olha Petrova.
Cardboard, oil. 79 × 50