Twins 1958

Tetyana Yablonska made this painting, Twins, with oil on canvas, and while we don't have a date for it, it feels like the 50's! The light is silvery and the colors muted, as if filtered through a snowy haze. You can really see the brushstrokes – they’re loose and quick, like the artist was trying to capture a fleeting moment. I like the texture of the snow, built up with layers of white and pale blues. You can almost feel the cold! And there’s a little girl, all bundled up in a sled, being pulled by her sister. The way Yablonska painted the sled’s blankets is so tactile – you can almost feel the wool. Everything is simplified, pared down to its essence. The sled runners, particularly, are described by a single, confident stroke. It reminds me of Fairfield Porter, who also painted these intimate, domestic scenes. Both artists find beauty in the everyday, in the quiet moments of life. Ultimately, Yablonska's painting suggests that art doesn't need to be grandiose or complicated to be meaningful. It can be found in the simple act of observing and recording the world around us.