Remnants 14 Photograph

Oleksandr Romanyuk (also known as Les Lialka) – I am an artist born in Rohatyn, a town with deep historical roots. I paint with acrylic on plastic sheets, simplifying forms, leaving just a hint of objects. I am interested in city and village landscapes that are not tied to any time, human figures that transform, animalistic motifs. I do not search for realism – I care more about the feeling that stays after looking at a painting. I grew up among architecture that remembers empires and landscapes that never change. In Galicia, you still feel echoes of Austro-Hungary, but together with European heritage, this land carried also the weight of colonization. Long years under Soviet rule left a mark on the mind, and today’s Russia still tries to keep Ukraine in its orbit, not letting go of imperial ambitions. For me, art is a way to focus on eternal, not temporary. Through harmony of colors, play of light and space, I want the viewer to think not only about the painting itself but about what is behind it – about the Creator, about invisible laws of being, about time, which changes everything but cannot erase the essential. I hope to find here a viewer, a kindred soul. And I will be happy if my works bring this feeling of connection and recognition.