In the village 1956

Kateryna Bilokur made this village scene, presumably with oils, using a pointillist or divisionist technique. There's a certain shimmering quality that comes from the layering of all these tiny brushstrokes. It's interesting how the material qualities of paint – its texture, its color, its viscosity – can become almost like a language. I mean, look at the roof of that little house; the way she daubs on those strokes of ochre and brown, you can almost feel the texture of the thatch. And then, notice how the colors shift and change depending on where you are in the painting. The sky is all blues and whites, while the field in the foreground is a riot of browns and greens. It's almost like she's trying to capture the feeling of being in this place, rather than just painting what she sees. Bilokur’s work is sometimes compared to that of Frida Kahlo, which makes sense given the highly personal, idiosyncratic nature of both artists’ work. But Bilokur’s work is very much her own thing, and reminds us that art is an ongoing conversation, a process of exchange and reinvention that spans generations.