Sisters at a Picnic in the Garden, 2023

Dasha Pogodina   Best sellers Emerging artists

This painting will come to you stretched on a wooden stretcher and completely ready to be placed in the interior.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK
In the work 'Sisters at a Picnic in the Garden,' I captured an intimate moment of family connection and joy that history overlooked. Situated amidst a peaceful garden, the sisters embody the spirit of carefree youth and the collective delight of simple pleasures, such as a picnic on a warm day. This scene is not just an image, but a poignant reconstruction of happiness and unity that my ancestors could have enjoyed, far from the shadows cast by their struggles. As an artist, I do not just paint what might have been; I create a space where these unfulfilled dreams come to life, allowing a fleeting glimpse into a peaceful world that was meant for my family.


Series Archive of happiness. Unlived Chronicles
This is a way for me to work through the trauma of generations who were deprived of the opportunity to have happy years of childhood youth and maturity throughout the 20th century. My family's photos and stories are full of sadness and pain, unfulfilled dreams and broken destinies. The Soviet government was engaged in the dispossession, and displacement of people, families were forced to abandon their homes. I want to create a false archive in which generations of my family were happy. My task as an artist is to rewrite the script, to give voice and image to what my ancestors dreamed of but could not get. I paint the carefree times that didn't exist, in which they were happy, living in their beautiful rich houses, studying, meeting their love, gathering as a big family for holidays, and whispering each other secrets about suitors. For me it is a way to come to terms with the trauma of generations condemned to survival instead of life, to create a personal image of a future of joy and prosperity, and to show society and others with similar backgrounds that liberation lies not in suffering but in rethinking and strength.