4me4you recently had the pleasure of visiting Gillian Jason Gallery, where the captivating work of artist Jenya Datsko was on display.
At first glance, these scenes might appear deceptively simple: a quiet gesture, a flower held loosely, a moment of shared conversation. Yet within each of these understated instances resides a spectrum of uncertainty, longing, and hesitation. What might first appear serene, or even joyful, gradually reveals more complex layers. A bright composition may carry beneath it a quiet anxiety.
The visible and the internal do not always align. It is precisely this tension that captivates Datsko: the subtle contradictions of lived experience, when appearance belies what remains unspoken something uneasy, something unresolved.
In everyday moments, both our own and those we observe in others, so much is hidden. Even a familiar object, like a daisy, can become charged with unspoken sentiment. “Loves me, loves me not…” – a child’s refrain that somehow retains its emotional weight even in adulthood.
For Datsko, these undercurrents surface through recurring symbols. Some are explicitly approached by the artist. The recurring presence of flowers, for example, becomes a metaphor of the fragility of life and the fleeting nature of beauty, while also offering a quiet sense of hope. They reflect life’s delicate balance between sorrow and joy, and remind us to cherish moments of happiness before they fade. Other symbols, instead, remain modest anchors of meaning that do not seek to explain, but instead create space for what lies beneath.
These works do not offer conclusions; they remain suspended in that quiet interval between what has passed and what is yet to come. Datsko refers to this suspended state as a “half answer”: a moment of uncertainty, but also a moment of honesty – a space where possibility is still alive, still forming.
“I’m not aiming to provide answers. I’m trying to hold a feeling, a moment before it fades. These works exist as open fragments, glimpses into interior states that remain unfinished, unresolved, quietly resonant.”
The title ‘Short Stories’ draws on both literary form and the rhythm of contemporary perception, where our encounters with the world are often delivered as sudden or partial images. This visual structure echoes the way we absorb information today: transient contemplation of ephemeral snapshots, not unlike the imagery we scroll through on social media.
ARTIST: JENYA DATSKO
