Exhibited in November 2022, artist Liliia Kaluzhyna participated in the international collective exhibition “Metaphysical Perspectives” held at Transvisionismo Art Gallery, Castell’Arquato. Curated by art critic Maria Palladino, the exhibition was a multidisciplinary reflection on metaphysical themes and psychological depth, exploring the works of various contemporary artists. Kaluzhyna’s artwork captivated the audience, showcasing her distinct visual language and emotional intensity.
The exhibit featured critical contributions from Professor Roberto Boccalon, President of the International Association for Art and Psychology, and Professor Adello Vanni, a leading psychiatrist. Kaluzhyna’s paintings were praised for their symbolic content and masterful use of color, which brought viewers into a dreamlike, metaphysical realm. Her participation in “Metaphysical Perspectives” highlights her artistic evolution, blending surrealist influences with metaphysical inquiries, and solidifies her status as a prominent contemporary artist.
Critical text on the works of the painter Liliia Kaluzhyna
LILIA KALUZHYNA
Contaminations, shifting hues, and blends generate suggestions of strong symbolic value in the works of Lilia Kaluzhyna. Emotions and empathy are at the core of her artistic process, where subjects are predominantly of an emotional nature, seeking to communicate indirectly and immediately reaching the observer’s sensitivity rather than conveying an overly recognizable message.
At the heart of things lies our ability to perceive them and transform them into emotion: hence we see primarily natural landscapes, expanses of fields, seas and waterways, flowers, often recalling childhood landscapes deeply rooted in the imagination, as well as musical instruments, and human and animal figures.
The figures take on an indistinct physiognomy, not characterized by sharply defined features, thus making them relatable to all humanity, fostering identification: everyone can immerse themselves in one of the artist’s canvases, recognize themselves in the action or situation depicted, feel part of it, and share in its emotional effects. Within this context of universality, the artist enjoys exploring, allowing the viewer to play their part, becoming in some way a co-author of the work, because—as she herself says—a work of art should lead to questions, stimulate understanding of why it was created in a certain way.
The colors the artist favors are strongly contrasting, with a predominance of warm tones: reds and oranges to light up sunsets, but also greens and turquoise to animate the waves of the sea and the atmosphere of the sky. More recently, her palette has become more complex, incorporating grays, cool blues, and earthy browns to reflect on the pain and fear of her Ukrainian people, oppressed by war.
This demonstrates another intrinsic quality of her art: the skillful mimesis through which a work emerges from the depths of the unconscious, transforming into chromatic outcomes capable of bearing and conveying significant inner content. Her brushstrokes are broken, expressed in dashes, commas, and flourishes, weaving colors onto the surface without interruption, in perfect expressionist style, tinged with surrealist and symbolist influences, ensuring that the result evokes lasting and renewed appreciation.
Maria Palladino