The exhibition features 18 watercolors and 18 sculptures of the artist. Iryna Veshtak-Ostromenska devoted this exhibition to Venice – its canals, magnificent architecture, masquerades... The name of the exhibition was prompted by a quote from Jorge Luis Borges: “Our beautiful duty is to imagine that there exists a labyrinth and a thread leading out of it.”
The main features of the vernissage are the element of water in canals of Venice, which is perfectly combined with watercolor technique, also based on water. And metal is a long-lasting material, just like the buildings of the “Eternal City,” many of which have survived intact for nearly 800 years. By the way, metal sculpture is a difficult technique. Artist’s husband helps her in creation of plastic designs. He takes over some of the most tedious processes of handling ready-made objects…
Iryna Veshtak-Ostromenska graduated from the Kyiv State Art Institute (studio of book illustrations). She is a member of the Ukraine’s National Union of Artists. Now her art works are stored in private collections in nine countries around the world.
The art works presented in this exhibition tell the viewers about festive, everyday, masquerade, night, and solemn Venice. Characteristically, watercolors show us only the landscape sketches – the buildings, canals, while sculptures are mostly devoted to “humanized” images. These are fabulous and almost allegorical characters. But in each of them you invariable sense the spirit of Venice: Infante – an Unexpected Kiss, A Mask with a Mask, Golden Smile, Little Pea, Clown Girl on a Wheel, Dedication to a Smile, Teasing Clown, etc. Playful and delicate subjects embodied in metal arouse admiration. This exhibition is both a drama and puppet theater (both realistic and touching).
The great virtuoso Sviatoslav Richter once said: “Everyone of us has two homelands. The place where one was born and Italy.” Iryna Veshtak-Ostromenksa was lucky to take the “communion” of her “another homeland” in full.
The exhibition is open until September 10.
