Elena Lezhen

THE ARTISTIC EXPLORATIONS BY YELENA LEZHEN IMMEDIATELY CAPTURE ONE’S ATTENTION DUE TO HER EXTRAORDINARY GIFT FOR SELF-EXPRESSION THROUGH SYNTHESIS.

For the artist ─ Ukrainian by origin, American by adoption ─ the key moment in pictorial representation, aside from artistic details or virtuosity, is the special importance conferred to symbols.

Elegant, refined and responsive, Yelena Lezhen’s symbolism bears an emotionality which, combined with the mythical narration and nourished by strong fantastical characterization, manages to express, soberly and directly, a specific emotive atmosphere

One of the themes particularly embraced by the artist is undoubtedly the concept of metamorphosis. Her paintings desire to say that everything is changing: we are changing by interacting with external stimuli. We are not the same today as we were yesterday and tomorrow we will not be the same as we are now. Everything changes, everything evolves and everything flows. Observing Lezhen’s designs one once again hears the words of the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “Panta rhei“, where a single consciousness reigns: everything can change, even independently of our will.

The artworks are made with a mixed technique on black paper, harmoniously blending acrylic colors into the design, frequently resorting to the use of gold and silver tones. Gold and silver emphasize the artwork’s precious nature and enrich it with a refined connotation.

Going beyond the allusions to historical-artistic models of the Renaissance, Yelena Lezhen distinguishes herself with a unique and undeniable style, capable of lyrical outbursts and essential scenes, divorced from the environmental contexts. Her art intensely expresses the artist’s love of life, portraying another of her dearest themes: love. Love abounds in every brush stroke of Yelena Lezhen’s art ─ all of it contained within the elegance of the symbol.