Yulia Belasla
Yulia Belaslia is a contemporary figurative painter who has exhibited extensively since 2019 throughout Russia from Siberia to Moscow and St. Petersburg and internationally in London, New York...
Yulia Belasla is a contemporary figurative painter who has exhibited extensively since 2019 throughout Russia from Siberia to Moscow and St. Petersburg and internationally in London, New York, Miami, and Jersey City, New Jersey. Solo exhibitions in Russia include venues such as CSI Miracle, Artplay Territory Design Center, and at the International Federation of Artists. Yulia has been thoroughly published in the last few years in about 20 publications to date. Notable publications include features in ART MUSE magazine, multiple exhibition catalogues from Artseeker Gallery, and Sammlung Magazine.
The paintings are reminiscent of the art nouveau art movement during the era of the first World War with ornamental linear qualities and colorful design but with a contemporary color palette, postmodern subjects, and Yulia’s unique style. Some of the paintings deal with the information age with backgrounds which resemble circuit boards while others appear more traditional, seemingly inspired by Slavic folk art. There even remains a few elements of pop art with bold colorful forms heavily defining a background or figure. The mash up of various influences creates a body of work which reflects an ambitious approach to create new notions of design elements in contemporary painting. Seemingly elegant and full of life, the paintings usually reflect feminine beauty and a relationship of figures with designed surroundings, containing backgrounds usually fused in consistent patterns with the forms of the figure.
Found Zen (pictured above) and Pleasant Fatigue of the Past Day, Grey Background (pictured below) are paintings in Yulia’s body of work which deal with stylized female figures containing circuit board-like backgrounds in a series titled The Physicality of the Information World. These works portray “information warfare” and ”‘information fatigue” according to Yulia. These digitized paintings appear to show various moods of women from meditative to weariness to disturbance. The figure’s emotional state remains not so much in their stylized faces but in their composed body language from performing yoga to sipping glasses of wine sitting relaxed or stressed out on the floor. The women’s faces are represented by one large eye, a solid color shadow, small red lips, and streaks of circuit boards in their hair. Extending to almost the size of their bodies, the women’s hairs act as anchors creating a central vertical focal point for the composition. These series of works reflect contemplation of design relationships with figurative elements.
Yulia Belasla creates intricate ornamental works without being layered in excess. With a sense of energized colors and linear form, these paintings act as a bridge between early modernism and postmodern interpretations of design. Elegant and direct, the paintings represent the figure with robust character and a sense of dignity. As a fairly young mid-career artist, Yulia offers a lot of promise with these ambitious works and a consistent resume. We will be following her work closely in the years ahead to see how these designed paintings develop in regards to thematic qualities of connecting the information era with reinterpretations of figurative structures.
Artist website: https://www.artmajeur.com/belasla-art
Saatchi Art: https://www.saatchiart.com/balasla