Iryna Merkulova’s Urban Realism

Iryna Merkulova is part of Where the City Whispers, an exhibition “that listens closely to the city’s quieter narratives ; its myths, thresholds, and unseen rhythms.” (Above: Behind the Glass)

The group show at Galerie Jano in Montreal also features paintings by Marianne Pon-Layus who draws on folk tales, fairy-tale imagery, and surreal allegory, transforming familiar urban scenes into dreamlike fables (above: Fées)

Also in the exhibition is artist Mathilde Bois, who introduces sculptural works and “birds that evoke movement, presence, and poetic symbolism within the urban landscape.”

The so-called ‘sensitive realism’ of Iryna Merkulova lingers on windows, and transitional architecture, inviting reflection on what we see. (Above: Viewfinder – Viseur here)

Her paintings often frame architectural elements — windows, thresholds, interior vignettes — not simply as static surfaces but as portals between what is seen and what remains just beyond view – Galerie Jano

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Merkulova, last featured here on the Art Junkie in 2024, is based in Montreal. A graduate of Concordia University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program, she combines meticulous observation with gestural and experimental mark-making, translating ephemeral social phenomena into layered, tactile compositions.

Iryna Merkulova website, here.

Where the City Whispers exhibition site at Galerie Jano, through April 22, 2026, here.