An abstract conversation between two artists, shaped by color, emotion, and light.
Snisarenko Gallery opens new Beverly Hills exhibition space with First Light, Beverly Hills - a colorful and emotional exhibition by two Ukrainian artists, Liza Zhdanova and Eugene Lisniak. Both artists studied together at the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and began their careers as muralists. Today, they bring their unique visions to California, showing their abstract work side by side for the first time in the U.S.
Inspired by the soft light and vibrant nature of early mornings in Beverly Hills-where rose gardens mingle with fragrant jasmine, bougainvillea spills over fences, and hydrangeas, peonies, and orchids bloom beneath palm trees, pines, and towering ficuses-the exhibition becomes a visual dialogue between movement and stillness, expression and introspection.
Liza Zhdanova's "Flowers" series (2025) is a vibrant celebration of color, life, and emotion. Her brushstrokes feel spontaneous and full of energy, echoing wild, untamed gardens in bloom. Through layered abstraction, she references orchids, irises, peonies, and blossoms that seem to dissolve into movement, inviting viewers to feel joy, sensuality, and emotional release. Her compositions pulse with deep purples and soft pinks, capturing the fleeting beauty of flowers in diffused light, while symbolic forms, like a bold black heart nestled among blooming branches, evoke themes of love, vulnerability, and memory. Zhdanova balances boldness with softness, creating floral compositions that are both expressive and introspective, transforming the still life into a deeply personal, emotional language.
Eugene Lisniak's abstract paintings from 2020, including the intimate and never-before-seen "Self Portrait," take a different path. His works are layered, textured, and deep-filled with shifting forms and rich color fields. They feel meditative and searching, exploring how identity can be shaped by memories, intuition, and gesture.
Though their approaches differ, both artists are deeply connected by a shared journey-one of transformation. Zhdanova paints blooming life in motion, while Lisniak reveals strong emotional landscapes. Through abstraction, their works reveal an inner journey, where identity unfolds slowly, shaped by feeling, reflection, and time.
First Light, Beverly Hills is about new beginnings-not only for the artists, but for the gallery and its community. It's a moment to pause and take in the light. To feel the energy of change. And to step into something new, surrounded by beauty, emotion, and possibility.
