UFDA Expands Its Catalogue with New Works by Svitlana Ahranovska
Anna Cherevko
Table of Contents
The Ukrainian Fund of Digitized Art (UFDA) is proud to announce the latest addition to its growing catalogue - 19 works by Svitlana Ahranovska. These newly digitized pieces are now available for viewing in full resolution.
A Closer Look at the New Works
UFDA has digitized works from "A Tree That Holds Fast to the Ground" Series (2023), "Flowering" Series (2023), and "Body in War" Series (2022) by Svitlana Ahranovska.
In the Body in War series, the artist depicts damaged trees that bear a certain resemblance to human bodies, seeking to draw the viewer into dialogue. The series was born out of a reflection on how one can speak about war through the language of art, why this is important, and what aspects should be emphasized in that conversation. Beyond the analogy with the wounded human body, trees as a subject carry an additional meaning: the possibility of renewal. The artist hopes the images will serve as a spark, a starting point for the viewer’s own reflections on this complex theme.
The Flowering series can be seen as a continuation of Body in War. While developing the earlier works, Svitlana felt compelled to move beyond the initial theme and take the next step in this sequence. This shift led from the image of the wounded body—expressed through the metaphor of a tree—to that of a body in the process of healing. The metaphor remains consistent: the tree as a symbol inherently carries the idea of renewal. A blossoming branch, in turn, evokes the Christian symbol of resurrection.
The central theme of the drawing series A Tree That Holds Fast to the Ground is the feeling of connection - lost and regained. It is a connection to the past, to one’s country and native city, a search for roots, and a bond with the land itself. By choosing trees and plants as her primary subjects, Svitlana Ahranovska explores the processes of withering, fading, and decay, alongside the constant renewal that follows. These phenomena are inseparably linked and, like the seasons, succeed one another in a continuous cycle.
About Svitlana Ahranovska
Svitlana Ahranovska is a talented Ukrainian artist who works with visual arts, including paintings and drawings. She was born in 1985 in Dnipro, Ukraine. From 2004 to 2009 she studied at the Dnipro Art College, department of painting.
From 2009 to 2015, she studied in the Department of Painting and Composition at the National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture.
She works at the intersection of digital and traditional visual art. Her focus lies in exploring the impact of digital gadgets on visual perception. By using classical oil painting techniques to interpret the digital image, she adds an extra layer of meaning—translating one medium into the language of another. Her work seeks to strike a balance between abstraction and figuration.
She worked mainly with painting until 2022. After February 2022, she turned to drawing, abandoning color for greater expressiveness and sharpness of images. Ahranovska's art explores the theme of war and trauma, possibilities of recovery, issues of self-identification, and the connection between generations.