Hauser & Wirth, downtown Los Angeles
Flora Yukhnovich:  Bacchanalia
Through January 18, 2026

by Cathy Breslaw

The title of Flora Yukhnovich’s current exhibition at Hauser & Wirth provides a strong clue to the basis of her sumptuous paintings. Bacchanalia refers to ancient Roman festivals for the god of wine, Bacchus – where drunken raucous partying was complete with non-stop excesses of food, music, performance, and orgies – so much so that the Roman government came to ban them.

Borrowing from motifs of the 17^th and 18^th century French Rococco and Baroque styles, Yukhnovich embraces the decorative, ornamental and romanticized imagery common to those eras, and re-visions them into the context of contemporary culture. Her mostly pastel color palette, and gestural abstract style reflect a familiar feminine feel. While referencing particular historical landscape and figurative paintings in building the underlying structure of the works, Yukhnovich often blurs the images with sweeping brushstrokes of color tones, layering thick as well as transparent areas into the canvases. 

For the viewer, we can imagine high winds or storms have descended upon the scenes sending clouds, figures, trees, and objects hurling through space creating both energy and disorder. In many of these large scale paintings, there is a particular focus of ‘light’, adding both drama, and a place for our eyes to rest. Zooming in on any parts of the paintings introduces us to a microcosm of sensuous beautifully layered colors, shapes and lush surfaces revealing themselves as paintings in and of themselves. While Yukhnovich evokes a world of fantasy and idyllic scenes, they also sit on the edge of chaos and confusion.

Upon first glance, Yukhnovich’s oil paintings draw us into a world of delicate beauty and historical significance. Upon further examination we can’t help but be confronted with controlled chaos, having been left with excessive amounts of imagery to interpret. Overall, the paintings can be viewed as a reflection of global uncertain times and challenges. Some contemporary questions emerge:  How do we handle visual and emotional overload, both in terms of technology and parts of our complex personal lives? Where do we draw the line between fantasy and reality?

Perhaps Yukhnovich provides us with a roadmap to discovering a path to some answers.

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