Kontraktova Square (2011)Oil painting by Anastasiia Grygorieva

This painting was created in 2011 as a remembrance of Kyiv as it once was. At that time, it was impossible to imagine the trials that awaited us — the war that would later become part of our reality.

Today, living through difficult times, I look at this work with a new awareness and discover a new meaning within it. The frozen moment of an evening conversation between monks on Kontraktova Square feels timeless — as if it was, is, and will always be. Within this stillness lies a sense of continuity, an inner resilience of life itself.

Here, the meaning of “there will be” is born.
There will be peace.
There will be evening sunsets.
There will be faith.
There will be a future.

Perhaps it is difficult for those who have not lived through years of war to fully understand this state of being. Life in war does not allow for long-term plans — because tomorrow may not come. And yet, this painting, created in the past and about the past, gave me a feeling of the future. The feeling that it will come.

Materials used:

oil on canvas

Details:

• Oil painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 80 x 65 x 2cm (unframed)
• Ready to hang
• Signed on the front
• Style: Impressionistic
• Subject: Architecture and cityscapes

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