May is an incredibly busy time for migrating birds, as millions flock from their southerly wintertime feeding grounds back to northern climes, where they’ll nest and breed. Chances are, if you look and listen in your back garden or nearby nature preserves, a wide variety of unusual birds may be noticeable around this time as they stop off to refuel during their journeys. So, it’s fitting that Vasilisa Romanenko’s solo exhibition, Flora & Flight at Arch Enemy Arts, continues this month.
Romanenko’s detailed acrylic paintings, which range from six to 28 inches tall, set birds within vibrant sprays of blossoms. They’re intimate and inviting, bringing us close to these feathered creatures that, in real life, we expect to dart off the moment we get near. White doves sit amid peonies, poppies, and snapdragons, and dark-eyed juncos perch on colorful hollyhocks. “Each bird in Vasilisa’s work carries such a wonderful sense of form and character,” the gallery says. “Each leaf and flower feels varied and alive.”
Flora & Flight continues through May 31 in Philadelphia. See more on Romanenko’s Instagram.
