Inna Skidan: Telling the Tale with Whimsy and Wit
Share

Inna Skidan: Telling the Tale with Whimsy and Wit

Inna Skidan, brought up in Ukraine and now living in the U.S., draws on the richness of her heritage and the cyclical highs and lows of romantic love in her abstract figurative work. When asked about what her work is about, she chuckles and explains: “My paintings are about life and love. Sometimes you feel love—sometimes not.” 

Tree of Life by Inna Skidan

In Tree of Life, the Ukrainian rushnyk (a ceremonial towel or swatch of fabric and a true labor of love) is shown, along with a figure of a bird and a man. In Ukraine, the rushnyk follows a person’s life from birth to marriage and, ultimately, to death. When they are born, babies are wrapped in a rushnyk, sometimes carrying this birth rushnyk into other rites as well. When a person dies their body is also covered in a rushnyk for the funeral. During the marriage ceremony, the couple will step on yet another rushnyk (also the word for “road” in Ukrainian) to symbolize their new journey togetherwhoever steps onto it first is said to have “the last word” in the marriage. During engagement, the future bride presents an (often handcrafted) ornamental rushnyk to her future bridegroom. If a groom was to “steal” a bride from someone else’s rushnyk…well that would be a tale! It’s that story that informs Skidan’s Tree of Life which features a rogue beau stealing a “lovebird” from another’s rushnyk. 

Unrequited Love by Inna Skidan

Skidan not only portrays the rites of passage in life, but also the process of getting there. She embraces the tongue-in-cheek—telling the tales that have been handed down over generations—pieced together with a bit of magic. In Unrequited Love, a male figure and female figure form a quasi circle, while the man’s nonchalant gaze is right ahead, the woman faces him, her body contorted as if to say “I would bend over backward for you.”  Continuing the romantic love bird imagery, Skidan comments, “the woman is fluttering around like a bird” while the man remains completely focused ahead. 

Inna Skidan’s solo exhibit “Shadowed” is on display in the Gallery until August 4.

About the Artist:

Inna Skidan was born in Zhitomir, near Kyiv, Ukraine. Always an artist at heart, Skidan continued her creative pursuits after immigrating to the United States. Skidan has long been inspired by the universal stores of sensitivity and strength that come from Ukrainian folklore. She strives to fill her work with light and life, often experimenting with color, texture, and medium to strike a balance between abstract shapes and narrative focus. 

Can't get enough?

Sign up for our weekly blog newsletter, subscribe to our RSS feed, or like us on Facebook for the latest Art League news. Visit our homepage for more information about our classes, exhibits, and events in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.

Share this
Welcome to Artful Weekend -our listing of area art exhibits and events- This weekend: October 2024 Open Exhibit, Missed Representations by Juliette Manolié, and Gallery 75 at…
Every week we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click…
Welcome to Artful Weekend -our listing of area art exhibits and events- This weekend: September 2024 Wit and Whimsy Exhibit, Co-Creation: Artist/Model/Photographer by Jeff Levine, and Gallery 75 at The…
Every week we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click…
Welcome to Artful Weekend -our listing of area art exhibits and events- This weekend: September 2024 Wit and Whimsy Exhibit, Co-Creation: Artist/Model/Photographer by Jeff Levine, and Gallery 75 at The…
Every week we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click…

Did you know?

You can support The Art League every time you shop through AmazonSmile!

Simply set The Art League as your chosen charity, and every time you shop at smile.amazon.com, a portion of your purchase will be donated to support our mission to share the experience of visual arts with the community.