Olena Bratiychuk Linse lives in Switzerland, but comes from Ukraine. Her imposing paintings represent and symbolize female self-confidence and assurance. She admits they are affected by a Southern European ideal of beauty and make reference to classical and ancient Greek models. The artist explains her creative process as such, “I do not work with models, but I can see the faces, hear stories of friends and acquaintances and use them in my portraits. A symbiosis often occurs from what I hear, from my own life experiences, my feelings and my imagination. My paintings find their final shape first in my mind”.

The portraits of Olena Bratiychuk Linse show the face of mankind. They do not follow nature, but the idealistic and humanistic stamped human picture of the artist; they arise from the recollection and from an ideal picture which she had in mind long before she paints. Before she starts painting, she elaborates her artwork conceptually and prepares it down to the smallest detail in her imagination. Her pictures, in spite of all the dynamism and energy, radiate a remarkable degree of peace of mind.