Oleg Dashevsky started his artistic journey at the young age of 11, attending Lysychansk Children’s Art School in Ukraine. In 2009, he held his first personal exhibition at the gallery in the National Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve, and in 2010, his work became part of the Producer Center Boyko in Kiev.
Take a look at the paintings below, and you’ll see why his work belongs in such venues. The details in this first painting make it almost photographic in nature—it’s dramatically lit, with bright white and vibrant golden flowers providing brilliant contrast to the long cast shadows.
Soft edges, like the gently arranged lace and curtains, the delicate glassware and plump fruits, and hard edges, like the wooden paneling in the background and stubborn lip of the pitcher, create a nice variety of textures.
The way Oleg tirelessly painted petal upon painstaking petal, intricate lace, and greenery in the jam-packed pitcher makes the painting rich and splendorous even though it was created with simple, everyday items.
In this next still life, cherries luxuriously fill glassware to the brim while dazzling, candy-coated colors infuse the background, pleasantly reflecting off the glass and surface of the table.
Wine-soaked reds match the sultry sheen of the cherries, setting off the blue and lavender drapery, while a lone cherry bathing in spilled water soaks in the coolness of this invigorating scene.
Ripe, red cherries make their grand appearance once more in the final painting below, but what I can’t keep my eyes off of is the luminous pomegranate.
Its waxy skin fades from red to amber like a sunset, mirrored hazily in the background. Horizontal ridges curving around the vase and bowl draw the eye from left to right, until the edge of the pomegranate propels us back up and over to the left once more. The black tea kettle echoes sentiments of the dark background, and work in tandem to make the colorful fruits pop off the canvas.
To see more from Oleg, please visit his online gallery at Saatchi, which contains a wide array of other beautiful works.
This post may contain affiliate links.