“She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
"Winter is dead.”
-A.A. Milne
This April, “Friday the 13th” will gain new significance as artist Kira Yustak returns to the Gallery at 4 Saint Paul’s for her new 2012 show entitled DARK SPRING*.
Her stunning exhibit of original paintings is a meditation on the balance between life and death and the uncertainty of living in a world which both supports and erodes our framework of existence.
“As human beings we are dependent on the natural world; we are a part of it yet we try to separate ourselves from it… It is this duality which is an underlying theme of my work,” says Ms. Yustak.
Through her paintings Ms. Yustak asserts that this conflict between man and the modern world is a never-ending struggle which can only be processed through careful observation and a dash of ironic humor. In a season in which most of us attempt dominance over the environment by aggressively cleaning out our dwellings and setting our clocks forward, Ms. Yustak cautiously reminds us that our notion of ‘time’ is merely an illusion of control over nature.
Employing subject matter obtained from childhood memories, dreams, commercial advertising and historical images, Ms. Yustak’s new works promise an honest depiction of time as ‘a retreating and advancing wave upon the shore ‘ instead of one straight line.
We invite you to share in this experience of death and rebirth. Please join us on Friday the 13th of April for a special Opening Night Ceremony and Unveiling.
*DARK SPRING is a phrase used in literature and drama to refer to a period of happiness marred by an underlying sadness or depression.