Vasilisa Romanenko

WOODLAND WONDERS

feature

February 4th, 2022

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Arch Enemy Arts is delighted to present Woodland Wonders, an enrapturing new feature of seven original works from New England artist, Vasilisa Romanenko. 

 

Inspired by botany, natural history, and textile design, Vasilisa gracefully renders naturalistic fantasies in acrylic on canvas. Projecting flora and fauna from the chasmic spell of her forest scenes, the series reverently communicates texture, form, and delicate life in a contemplative stillness. Her subjects emerge from a softened darkness, captured in elegant detail with colors that mesmerize like a deciduous night time rain. Amidst the cool and muted foliage, the fiery tones of her mushrooms sit proudly like crowns on pillows of moss-covered earth. The eyes of her creatures arrest the viewer in a staring match, as if a single quiver or motion would inspire them to leap from view and escape the canvas itself. In this, Romanenko has created brilliant vignettes into a world that is familiar, but not fully our own. 

 

On highlighting the biological marvels hidden in plain sight, she writes:

 

“My new body of work focuses on the smaller, more unexpected treasures that nature presents to us. A mushroom, a sprig of berries, a mouse - things that we normally might not notice unless we pause and observe our surroundings.

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I wanted to bring attention to the everyday critters and scenery that we might find in our own backyards, and show that they can be beautiful and full of wonder as well.”

 

Woodland Wonders opens Friday, February 4th, and is Vasilisa’s first solo feature at Arch Enemy Arts since first being included in our 2020 Spotlight Showcase. 

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- by Alex Medlin II

 

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WOODLAND WONDERS will be on view from February 4th - 27th, 2022.
Sold works will begin to ship the week of March 7th, unless other arrangements have been made.

Items marked with a red dot have already been sold.

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