PhotoJeff Yiu / Wallace Tsoi
TextAdeline Tai
Born in Russia and grew up in Ukraine, Alëna Olasyuk was determined to become an artist at the age of 3. She now lives in Beijing, China, and majors in fashion media at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology.
Olasyuk is adept at painting with ink. The simplistic composition in black and white sends out polishing and elegant atmosphere, which appeals to the black and white of Chinese paintings but forms an independent character that comes with ideas, connotations, and views and perception of Zen that undergo an artistic practice of the mind and soul through the distance of black and white.
“The solid ink creates a 3D texture on paper painting that forms another observatory composition of micro-movement between luster and lines through different angles of lighting.” Alëna, 31 years old, describes the flash of light in her artworks, whose tone expresses the rigorousness beyond her age. She must treat her artworks profoundly because she really loves painting.
Alëna mentioned those artists who have a great influence on her before becoming a professional artist. Famous Spanish artist Salvador Dali is a representative of surrealism artist. He collects topics from dreams and gives authenticity into wild imagination that breaks the limitation in painting.
Another artist whom Alëna admires is Russian artist Kazimir Severinovich Malevich. Malevich expresses the concepts of suprematism for the pureness he wishes to convey through objective or abstract cubism art, which is a highly avant-garde approach. His key artworks such as pure geometry, helped Alëna find the opportunity to explore herself and eventually forms a unique style.
Between classics and modernity
From the perspective of aesthetics concepts and theories, the core to Alëna’s artworks is the balance created between chaos and structure, abstract and order, and black mystery and white brightness; it is the pondering and exploration for the edge of adversarial relation – her artworks are oriented between simplicity and complexity, past and between, orient and west, and selfish and unconditional.
“Between” is the concept that is deeply implanted in the artist.
She grew up in Ukraine but has been living in China for the past 10 years. She has extracted inspiration from architectural geometry of near perfection and suprematism. Her inspiration also comes from the invisible, an aggregation of perception, emotion, and all experience accumulated. She interprets with black and white, combining classics with modernity. The ink made in Russia which her father used when she was little is the most comfortable color she perceives. When she came to China and saw the simplistic Chinese painting, she could help but feel like kinship. Then, the simplistic Chinese painting, Russian-made ink pen, and simple painting papers enter an accidental integration. The classic elements incorporated in the artworks filled with a sense of the future lead to a more creative context.
Balance through conversation with paintings
Alëna introduces us to contemporary and new art experiences without the emotional ups and downs but is filled with logic. One curator has described the artworks of Alëna as: “Between the Russian Constructivism and Chinese Calligraphy Art.”
Her art is a process between meditation and profound self-conversation. The single colors used in her artworks represent the simplicity urgently needed for the contemporary world, which is like Occam's razor theory that discloses the truth. The black color of her works is not the darkest black but produces the true nature of Alëna through the artworks, with her shape and highlight for peripheral lighting. Viewers are often trapped in the layers of swirls created by the black and white whenever they appreciate her works, until they can reach the inner authenticity, search for harmony and the balance between Yin and Yang.
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Movement
中國墨 鋼筆 美術紙
Chinese ink, Nib pen, Paper
89x89 cm
2014
You
中國墨 鋼筆 美術紙
Chinese ink, Nib pen, Paper
89x89 cm
2014
Non-simplistic, non-complex, integrated, and yet withdrawn.
Alëna’s artworks do not interfere with the thinking of viewers but are filled with calm Buddhism Zen, which seems to depict a story with penetrating influence. Some people see “causality” and some see “tranquility.” The different viewing distance seems to yield different charms that one could not help observe carefully.
Balance
中國墨 鋼筆 美術紙
Chinese ink, Nib pen, Paper
74x74 cm
2013
Alëna does not deny that both the mountain and river of Russia and the sky of Beijing China have provided profound inspiration for her. The regular grey tone of the sky and the cloud movement between the mountain and rivers are all complex rhythms in simplicity. “Non-simplistic, non-complex, integrated and yet withdrawn.” Painting can reflect oneself and the perception of heartbeat breezing through the wind and turns the painting into painting and yourself.
