UNDER PRESS: GRAPHIC ART

The exhibition of graphic artworks of Iryna Babanina will lead you through dense and tangled paths of a creative search. Highly detailed canvases create the space for the viewer’s eye to rest and observe. However there’s also a feeling of being captivated into the scene. The power of symbiosis of line, shape, tone and contrast. The author presents works in a variety of techniques: lithography, dry point, woodcut, etching, watercolor.  

The name POD TLAKEM: GRAFIKA VOLNÁ  (UNDER PRESS: GRAPHIC ART) comes from the peculiarity of printmaking - pressure is always present there in order to create an artwork. And from a printing press a free artistic idea is appearing on a piece of paper. This is the allegory of the power and pressure creating something wonderful. Like the formation of a crystal. It's very rough at first, but after cutting and polishing, it becomes a pure diamond. Graphics also require concentrated, usually long-term work. 

Several watercolor works are also showcased at the exhibition. The series of 4 drawings called “In search of the Castaways” are inspired by the book with a corresponding name by a French writer Jules Verne. Although the drawings were made as illustrations, the scenarios are widely and freely interpreted. That opens the doors to the viewer to their own reflections.

 Iryna Babanina is an illustrator, working in a variety of graphic techniques and beyond. Originally from Kharkiv, she studies book illustration in NAFAA in Kyiv, Ukraine. Currently lives in Prague and takes an internship in UMPRUM at the Fine Arts program. Dedicates her time to explore new media, such as animation, painting, sculpture, art of installation. However, printmaking forms the core of Iryna’s creative work. This is the first personal exhibition of the artist.