Flora yukhnovich

Instead of focusing on specific sources of reference, Flora Yukhnovich is renowned for her paintings that alternate between abstraction and figuration. Each piece she creates synthesises a variety of inspirations to depict the shifting representations and meanings of Venus. Here, the goddess of love, motherhood, sexual reproduction, and passionate desire Venus meets the Venus of violent origin and hybrid gender, who is promiscuous and vengeful. She also brought up the notion that some tastes can be hidden out of shame, while others might be developed in an effort to blend in or impress others. According to the artist, her method involves "looking for a language that is in between figuration and abstraction." I appreciate the concept of fusing these two heavily gendered periods of art history: the machismo of abstraction and the lovely Rococo iconography. However, I don't really perceive a distinction between abstraction and figuration. They represent two distinct stages of the same process and are situated on a spectrum that extends from very free, abstracted markings to precisely articulated figuration. Despite its figuration, I do want the finished paintings to be vague and open I hope that forcing the viewer to fill in the blanks in their minds will result in a variety of diverse readings.

Yukhnovich has always been fascinated by the notion of the fête galante, a style of painting popularised by Watteau that shows the affluent partaking in romantic frolic in parkland settings. Her paintings may appear to be figurative when viewed from a distance because of the evocative brushstrokes that evoke complex eighteenth-century scenarios. But up close, the meticulously planned structure gives way to pure texture and colour. Yukhnovich's artwork gives me the impression of a dream you can only vaguely recall and cannot clearly see. Her creations have the appearance of memories and a hazy, colourful picture Due to the Ukrainian war, I believe that those who have left the nation or even those who have remained experience flashbacks of their former lives, which were tranquil and full of fun times spent with friends and family. They might see images of the ruined area where they formerly resided and only be able to recall a hazy memory of the location because you can't go back there.

Ukrainian Flag (abstract)

Transforming images of war into paintings of peace.

These images depict the ongoing conflict. The artist, Peter Kennard, gave me the idea to paint over the image and make it appear less melancholy and sorrowful, making the political issues appear less severe than they actually are.