Tales for adults

Iryna Ternavska’s solo exhibit of batiks and paintings has opened at Gallery 36, located on Kyiv’s art strip, Andriivsky uzviz. Ternavska’s world is romantic and somewhat fairytale-like and dreamy. This is a harmonious yet paradoxical blend of concreteness and uncertainty, vagueness of sense and clarity of mood, washed-out horizons and detailed ornaments on costumes.

This world is calm and somewhat melancholy. There is no place here for wild emotions, either negative or positive, and no place for the blinding glare of sunlight. Tigers, chimerical “birds of paradise,” cats, and, most importantly, heroes and heroines dressed in a quaint and enchanting way are the residents of Iryna Ternavska’s paintings and batiks. Some details of the traditional Japanese costume or European costumes of the 18th century may slip into their attire, but more often there are hints of tales in which dresses of rose petals, starlight, and ocean waves are sewn. Here the definition of “world” is completely appropriate because the plots of each painting and batik are obviously taking place in the same time-space. Sometimes they either flow into each other or exist in close proximity, although they may never intersect.