Born in Russia, and now based in Nottingham, Yelena Popova explores ideas of visibility and materiality. Atop a texturally rich linen background that recalls the rationalist textiles of the Bauhaus, Untitled (Cool Flames) (2011) features sinuous, intertwining abstract forms rendered with delicate layers of paint. Diaphanous fields of pink, red, blue and yellow dance around each other, evoking both the intersecting shapes of Russian Constructivism and the curvaceous cut-outs of Henri Matisse. Featured in the Saatchi Gallery’s 2012 group show Gaiety is the Most Outstanding Feature of the Soviet Union, Popova has since exhibited widely, staging a major solo show at Nottingham Contemporary in 2016. Her works are held in the Arts Council Collection and the Zabludowicz Collection, London, among others.