Elena Alyabyeva
b. Kharkiv, Ukraine, 1985
y. active 2017 - present
Square
pen, marker on paper, 8.3 x 5.5 in
Created on April 22, 2022
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See all of the works in the exhibit HERE
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At the time of drawing, the artist was in the city of Uzhhorod, far western Ukraine. She fled Kharkiv with her whole family to escape the war and now lives in a school gym adapted to accept refugees. She creates her works there or while walking around the city.
$4,000 - sold as the collection of 8
All proceeds go to help artists in Ukraine and to foster US-Ukraine cultural ties and cooperation. Please use Contact Form or see restaurant staff if you are interested in purchasing.
This was drawn after the turmoil of the first weeks and of the relocation had passed. Central to this drawing is a square somewhere in the city, it is protected by a shell of buildings and trees. The square is a metaphor for emptiness, but emptiness as a hope that it will be filled. This is the first work in the series with clearly defined color. Elena comes out of her shell and begins to fill her world with new hopes and realities.
Elena graduated from Kharkiv Art Lyceum and continued her education by taking private lessons. She has a unique and peculiar style where strong, determined strokes and bold colors are balanced by the softness of the subject. The war has changed the mood of her paintings. Her first personal art show was in Kharkiv in 2021 and a few months later she exhibited with the Union of Artists of Ukraine. Her works are in private collections in Germany, Denmark, Poland, and the United States.
