Painting “Red House” (2022)

This painting is about the perception of home during 2 crises that changed my perception of this place.  The first was the COVID-19 pandemic. When many became, hostages at home in isolation.

The second situation was the war in Ukraine. When I began to consider the house in terms of safety, where the bearing walls are, what can protect you and what can kill you during shelling. My family and I have been hit several times by heavy shelling, hiding in the hallway of our apartment. Many houses in my town now stand with black, burned out windows, these houses are no longer lived in. 

The dog running in the foreground is a reference to the fact that during the lockdown, only walking dogs were allowed outside. I found ads where dog owners rented them out so that other people could be outside too. When the war broke out, there were many dogs running around on the streets of my town that used to be pets.

The background was printed on canvas and sometimes it was translucent, creating a digital texture, creating a feeling of unreality. I used this technique not only from a decorative point of view, but also from a conceptual one: Being in the center of the situation, people look for explanations on the Internet, which often shapes their attitude to what is going on.  

The house here is more of a symbol, a feeling embodied in an abstract form, rather than a real object.

I was inspired by austerity, art brut, constructivism, Ukrainian avant-garde, the Boychuk school, Malevich, expressionism.

The painting is built on complex halftones, delicate color transitions and shades combined with contrast. The camera, unfortunately, does not accurately capture all the tonal and color complexity of the picture. 

The colors in the photo may not differ significantly from the original, it depends on the computer screen.