Lilies, a Present from the Daughter 1997

Tetyana Yablonska made "Lilies, a Present from the Daughter" with paint, a real gift of seeing. The process is all here in the brushstrokes, laid down with an almost hesitant touch, like she's feeling her way through the light. There's this beautiful, almost melancholy, quality to the colors. A kind of muted celebration, as if the lilies themselves are holding their breath. The texture of the paint is so present; you can almost feel the give and take of the brush, the artist's hand navigating the form. Look at the way she builds up the petals, not with a smooth finish, but with these little dabs and flicks of white, like a whispered secret. It reminds me a bit of Morandi, that same quiet intensity, the way he could make a still life sing with a simple arrangement of forms. It’s a gentle reminder that art isn't about perfection, it's about the messy, beautiful process of trying to capture a moment.