Artist Oksana Boyko embodied in her works her own memories of the city she had to leave because of the war.
The exhibition “Memories” of contemporary Ukrainian artist Oksana Boyko is taking place in the Portal 11 gallery. In her works, the artist highlights the themes of the urban and urban landscape. The search for rhythmic interrelationships of color spots, color organization and flexibility of space form the basis of the artist’s work.
The exposition presents works of painting and graphics dedicated to the urban landscapes of Kharkiv. According to the author, now the city remains for her as a memory that will always be joyfully remembered.
“For me, the memory of the past, of my city, is a joy, because this is how I remember it. And this is also a joy because I know that my city was as I pictured it and as it was and will be: sunny, bright, saturated, full of beauty and aesthetics in such places where it seems impossible for it to exist…“, says Oksana Boyko.
In vain, in her opinion, nostalgia is imagined as something dusty, sad, devoid of saturation of the image. The artist considers nostalgia as a philosophical concept that simultaneously combines the warm feeling of a native home, childhood memories, and homeland.
“When I was in my city, I looked at its streets with wide-open eyes, turning my head around. It remained beautiful even now, but as a memory. It’s as if your city remained a picture on Instagram for you, like a square picture“, the artist notes.
The exhibition begins with large panoramic paintings created before the beginning of the Russian invasion.
In these works, the presence of the viewer in the depicted space is felt, as if it were a look at the space with both eyes from a wide angle of vision: “On the way to the boat garden”, “At rush hour” depict ordinary scenes from the peaceful life of many modern people.
Gradually, the format of the works changes to compositions with the realities of today: “Saltivka is burning” and others, and the works themselves become smaller and not so drawn out…
At the end, the exhibition space is closed by a composition of nine square works, made from memory and arranged 3 by 3, resembling a grid in an Instagram profile.
All these works are like pictures of Oksana Boyko’s memories, which she sees even with her eyes closed.
Personal exhibition of Oksana Boyko “Memory”.
When: until March 12, Wednesday-Sunday: from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.;
Where: St. Triochsvyatitelska, 11.
free entrance
Tatyana ASADCHEVA
