Book Launch & Talk: Flora Yukhnovich, Evelyn C. Hankins & Katy Hessel

On the occasion of opening week of ‘Flora Yukhnovich. Bacchanalia,’ the artist’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, please join us in the Garden on Saturday 1 November at 12.30 pm for a conversation with artist Flora Yukhnovich, curator and art historian Evelyn C. Hankins, and curator and art historian Katy Hessel.
The conversation will delve into Yukhnovich’s latest body of work, a series of canvases inspired by Bacchanalia, as well as the making of the exhibition catalogue, which captures the energy of the new works through a series of illustrations and a text by curator Eleanor Nairne, with written reflections by the artist.
This event is free, however, reservations are recommended.
About ‘Flora Yukhnovich. Bacchanalia’
Taking inspiration from art historical genres, ranging from French rococo and Italian baroque to abstract expressionism, British artist Flora Yukhnovich’s paintings explore materiality and process through cascading forms that shift between representation and abstraction. For her first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, Yukhnovich will present her latest body of work, a series of canvases inspired by Bacchanalia.
Addressing the excesses of consumerism and popular culture, her lush, swirling brushstrokes evoke the dynamism and intense corporeality of both ancient and contemporary hedonism. A catalogue featuring an extensive selection of illustrations by Yukhnovich, along with a text by curator Eleanor Nairne, will accompany the exhibition.
About Flora Yukhnovich
Flora Yukhnovich’s art boldly explores materiality and process as vehicles for meaning, with cascading and swirling forms evoking rhythm and energy to flow between representation and abstraction. She has attracted critical admiration for immersive paintings in which glimpses of art historical styles, from French rococo and Italian baroque to abstract expressionism, are spliced with references drawn from contemporary films, music, literary sources and consumer culture.
Through her work, Yukhnovich astutely addresses dynamics of power inherent in received readings of art historical subjects and their associated hierarchies, in particular, by questioning notions of femininity and gender that are hard-wired into the aesthetic language of colour and form. Along with the intensely corporeal characteristics of her work and the visceral impact of her painterly gestures, Yukhnovich’s selected titles—for example, ‘Warm Wet N’ Wild’ (2020) and ‘Maybe She’s Born With It’ (2022)—provide coordinates which reference consumer and popular culture.
Born in Norwich, United Kingdom (1990), Yukhnovich’s characteristic painting language emerged during a period of study as a Fine Art student at City & Guilds of London Art School, where she completed her MA in 2017. Prior to this, she undertook portraiture studies at The Heatherley School of Fine Art in London.
About Evelyn C. Hankins
Evelyn C. Hankins is a curator and art historian with twenty-five years of experience working with artists and museums. From 2008 to 2025, she was a curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, culminating with her appointment as Head Curator in 2020. In that role, she oversaw all aspects of the curatorial team’s exhibitions, acquisitions, publications, and programs, including implementing a new collections strategy and successfully realizing a campaign of 50 major artwork gifts in honor of the Museum’s 50th anniversary. At the Hirshhorn, she organized exhibitions spanning the 20th and 21st centuries,including ‘Adam Pendleton: Love, Queen’ (2025), ‘Pat Steir: Color Wheel’ (2019-2020), ‘Marcel Duchamp: The Barbara and Aaron Levine Collection’ (2019-21), ‘Charline von Heyl: Snake Eyes’ (2018–2019), ‘Mark Bradford: Pickett’s Charge’ (2017–Ongoing), and ‘Robert Irwin: All the Rules Will Change’ (2016).
Previously, Hankins held curatorial positions at the Robert Hull Fleming Museum at the University of Vermont, Burlington and the Whitney Museum of American Art. She earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in art history, with an emphasis in 20th century American art, from Stanford University and a B.A. in art history from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
About Katy Hessel
Katy Hessel is an art historian, curator, broadcaster, and author of The Story of Art without Men, a Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller, and the winner of Waterstones Book of the Year 2022. She runs @thegreatwomenartists, an Instagram account that has celebrated women artists since 2015, and writes a fortnightly column for The Guardian. She is the creator and host of The Great Women Artists Podcast, is a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University, and a Trustee of Charleston. This November, she will release her next book, How To Live An Artful Life: 366 Inspirations from Artists on how to Bring Creativity to Your Everyday.
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Evelyn C. Hankins; Flora Yukhnovich, Photo: Kasia Bobula; Katy Hessel, Photo: Lily Bertrand-Webb

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