Exhibition of April 2019

"Living Nature" by Elena Likhatskaya

Still life is only one of the directions of creativity of Elena Likhatskaya, however, this genre eventually takes an increasingly important place in a number of her works. "Still Life" is translated as "dead nature", but when you look at the work of Elena, we have not heart to call them dead. The direction itself and the interpretation of objects as characters create a living, infinitely mobile environment in which things do not freeze, but, on the contrary, come to life and begin to act. Preserving the features of reality, they are transformed by the power of the artist's talent and become actors of her amazing theater.

Constant folklore gamut brings to work not just a life-giving, but also a timeless beginning. The seeming innocence of the images is actually archetypical, deeply rooted in indigenous traditions. Behind this "simplicity" one can guess warmth and tenderness to everything that exists - flowers, fruits, toys, porcelain figurines, household items, in short, everything that comes into view. Inexhaustibility of images is amazing. Among the many familiar and unaccustomed things, the artist establishes his own order: behind the apparent ease, the organization of space is hidden according to all the laws of composition. This space is closely filled, any objects, any textures, in any combination easily coexist - and their neighborhood always looks intrinsically justified and charming. In a still life, for example, a bird may well flush, instead of a background, an exotic landscape may suddenly open up.

In the forms of objects, Elena outlines the most essential, necessary for her, discarding unnecessary details - the limiting generalization of the flower reveals its essence, the teapot-vase cups acquire cute and funny characters, the toys now and then appear as if by themselves, making aching nostalgic notes. The form of tondo appeared in the artist's work as something very natural, it included plot compositions, landscapes, and portraits, but the main discovery was vintage porcelain figurines: the subject of art became the subject of the image, porcelain people became the characters of still life.

Elena uses different techniques - oil, watercolor, monochrome graphics - but I just want to highlight the color. It is decorative, open and at the same time very complex, and in watercolors it is fabulously luminous. “Fabulous” is one of the key words about the still lives of Helen Likhatskaya, however, not only about still lives.

Elena Bezyzvestnykh