Wheat, flowers, grapes 1954

Kateryna Bilokur made this painting of wheat, flowers and grapes, but we don't know exactly when or with what. The surface is built up from what seems like tiny, delicate marks and strokes. I can imagine Bilokur working slowly, layering the paint to create these incredibly lush and detailed forms. There is such a profusion of natural life: wheat, flowers, grapes all coexisting in one pictorial space. The details in the leaves are so precise, it’s almost like she’s making botanical illustrations. I can imagine her outside studying each leaf and flower, trying to understand the relationships between them, their colours, their forms. It must have taken her so long to achieve this effect. I wonder if she was thinking about the seasons, the cycles of growth, or perhaps about the abundance of nature? It seems as though she wants us to see the wonder and beauty in the everyday.