Original artwork description:

Hide and Seek (2024) by Zakhar Shevchuk is a small but intensely expressive oil painting that reflects the surreal normalcy of living under threat. Measuring just 29x24 cm, this piece draws on a real scene from wartime Ukraine: children sheltering in bathtubs during rocket attacks. The bathtubs – often the safest place in homes without a designated shelter – become symbolic vessels of fragile protection.

The painting features a vertical sequence of five indistinct child figures, each nestled in a blue-tinted rectangle. The brushwork is thick and emotive, almost sculptural, with impasto textures that evoke the claustrophobia and pressure of confinement. The composition is minimal, yet its symbolism is layered. The title Hide and Seek plays with emotional contrast – the innocence of a child’s game set against the terrifying necessity of hiding to survive.

This is a quietly devastating piece that will resonate with collectors of expressive, socially aware, and symbolically rich contemporary painting.

Materials used:

Oil

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