Yaroslava Holysh - "Edible Cactus"

"Edible Cactus"
Acrylic on canvas, 100 × 100 cm, 2025
Hand signed. Certificate of authenticity included. Ready to hang.

I tasted a cactus for the first time on Tenerife - fresh, surprising, and unexpectedly delicious. I was sitting with a view of the ocean, in one of the most spectacular spots on the island, and this plant that I had always seen as tough and untouchable turned out to be something you could eat and enjoy. That moment of discovery - of something familiar becoming completely new - is what this painting holds.

"Edible Cactus" belongs to a series of 8 works painted with a unified palette: soft and gentle tones in tension with deep, dark contrasts. The composition is built in three layers of acrylic, with the most time and care given to the fine details that bring the plant's quiet presence to life. The goal was flat, deliberate colour - precise and calm - while still holding emotional weight.

Yaroslava Holysh (b. 1998, Ukraine) is a visual artist, muralist and educator based in Warsaw. Her work is rooted in a deep attentiveness to nature - finding the extraordinary in what others pass by without noticing.

Selected recognition and exhibitions:
– Gaude Polonia Scholarship, funded by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (2023)
– ZAIKS Scholarship, Fund for the Promotion of Creativity (2024)
– Jan Kulczyk Scholarship (2020, 2021)
– Grant for a mural commission, Museum of King Jan III's Palace in Wilanów, Warsaw (2023)
– "CIAŁO. Kilka odsłon nagości", Miejska Galeria Sztuki, Częstochowa (2025–2026)
– "Ukraina Lever", Galleri Rømma, Løten, Norway (2023)
– Artistic residency, Rømma Gallery, Norway (2023)
– Solo exhibition, Galeria Jesienna CWK, Warsaw (2022)
– Educator, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (2024–present)

Works in private collections in Poland and abroad.
Follow the creation process on Instagram: @holysh_yaroslava