Dry Forest, 2020

Kristina Bukovcakova

Acrylics on canvas

80 x 100 cm

Unframed

(ships from Slovakia)

In this painting, out of striking red earth emerges a deep purple tree stump in a forest. The cross-section of this stump is decorated like a dark blue iris. The trunks of other trees appear in the background, textured like bark. Waves of purple and green colour stripe through the top section of the canvas, like an enigmatic rush of wind through the trees. Bukovcakova described in her artist statement how her “present is no longer haunted by dreams of a better world, but of a world on fire.” This idea appears to be reflected in this painting with the fire red of the ground and the dark, singed colors of the trees as if they have been ravaged by fire. Yet amongst this destruction, a flower is blooming, and this could be a sign of regeneration.