Information about the work
The painting We Were Bound to the Tree [My z derevom pov’yazani buly] (canvas, oil, 1993, acquired for the Khmelnytskyi Regional Art Museum collection from the author in 2007) is perceived like a fresco. In some striking way, the artist evokes a dual feeling within us. On the one hand, their bowed heads suggest that it is difficult for both the woman and the man to carry the trees. On the other, they hold them so effortlessly in their hands—as if these were not trees at all, but, say, a good fortune. The man’s “dandelion-style” haircut, somewhat childlike pouting faces, and warm pastel colors set a lyrical and simultaneously lighthearted mood. Or perhaps these are tree-people? Look at how firmly they stand on the ground, as though rooted into it. As for the painterly language, the imagery is planar, generalized, and devoid of superfluous detail, allowing one to speak of the artist’s personal interpretation of the principles of the Boichuk school.
Oil on canvas. 90 × 85
