Venice-based Ukrainian artist Daria Dmytrenko plunges into the depths of her childhood memories in her exhibition at SETAREH X, What's Behind the Gloom, an introspective exploration of darkness. Through a vibrant interweaving of aquamarine hues and shadowy atmospheres, the artist transcends the boundaries of individual experience to delve into the collective unconscious.

Dmytrenko's eerie imagery of anthropomorphic flora and reflections on water morph into dreamlike beings, as her imagination seeks to decipher the enduring echoes from a rural Ukrainian upbringing. Drawing upon these memories, further enriched by Ukraine's folktales, she translates her personal reflections into archetypal images. These symbols resonate with observers on an intuitive level, tapping into the shared human sublime, searching for what lies just beyond the boundaries of rational perception.

Nebulous, scaly, slick, these enigmatic figures emerge from the lagoon's canals, their shapes rendered with meticulous oil brushstrokes directly onto the canvas, eschewing the need for preliminary sketches. The city of Venice's influence is evident in the artist's formal training at its renowned art academy and her absorption of the Venetian school's artistic heritage, from the early primitivist masterpieces of Bellini to the dramatic use of light by Tintoretto. The city itself permeates the exhibition, its labyrinthine waterways winding through the dark stillness of alleyways, the rich earthy tones of the buildings, the domes of Byzantine churches shimmering with gold. Dmytrenko's paintings capture the essence of Venice's melancholic beauty, where the splendour of the city coexists with the traces of its decay. These artworks are a testament to the capacity to find enchantment in the unexpected corners of existence - the shadow world is not as it first appears, but an unfolding tableau of new wonders waiting to be discovered.

Press release courtesy SETAREH X.