Collection: Revealing Spain

The artworks presented in this series are the fruit of a year-long work process. It is the same amount of time that the Ukrainian painter Victoria Dael has been residing in Spain. 

The artist and her family were enjoying their fulfilling and happy life in Lviv (a city in western Ukraine) when on February 24th, 2022, troops of Putin’s Russia violated the border and initiated an unjust, absurd, and atrocious war against Ukrainian people. They did not leave any choice to millions of Ukrainians who were forced to flee the country. At the start of April 2022, Victoria, urged by her husband who was extremely concerned about her physical and emotional well-being, had to also make this drastic decision. 

“When I arrived in Spain, I was stunned by what was happening to us during those days and nights. Although I was already experiencing this war from afar, it was still depriving me of my inner peace. I spent some months without being able to paint. What hurt the most was not being able to perceive the beauty surrounding me here. However, little by little, my eyes were opening once again. Little by little, my desire to feel, to live and to work was coming back. Spain's vitality with its unique colours, warmth and friendliness finally cured my tormented spirit and inspired my personal Renaissance,” Victoria Dael tells. 

The paintings of the Revealing Spain cycle reflect artist’s impulse to discover a terra incognita of a sort, her first steps towards the unknown and her fresh newcomer perspective. Perhaps this is why the protagonists of her paintings are not completely exposed. They are partially covered as something enigmatic and concealed to her. Something still hidden, yet very promising. 

The paintings are made in a unique author's technique with mixed texture, charcoal drawing and acrylic paints.