Ukrainian-born Canadian artist Yana Movchan began creating art at the age of two! Her work combines a sublime mastery of the technique and structure of Renaissance painting with the instinctive symbolism of “magical realism.” Her work is formal, yet playful; contemporary, yet timeless; and joyous, yet mysterious, evocative and dreamlike.

Angels are among Yana’s favorite subjects, and in a recent visit to the Royal Gallery in Providence, she explained that she “paints life” and that those who “help us” (angels) are a part of life.

Look closely at a Yana Movchan painting and you’ll immediately see the big picture, while some of the details simultaneously create subconscious impressions. Don’t be surprised: The artist tells us that often, such details originate in her own subconscious thoughts! Yana’s work was the nucleus of a recent show at the Royal Gallery.