Ukrainian artist's butterfly watercolour on display at Medicine Hat's Esplanade

A work by Ukrainian-born artist Iryna Karpenko is on display at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre in Medicine Hat this month as part of a travelling exhibition organized by TREX Southeast, the City of Medicine Hat said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

The exhibition features Karpenko's 2025 watercolour Dancing Butterfly, part of a series called Wings of Wonder. The city's post said the work "celebrates Ukrainian spirit, freedom, renewal, and transformation" and is "decorated with traditional Ukrainian patterns inspired by embroidery and folk motifs."

Karpenko graduated from the Kyiv College of Industrial Arts and the National Academy of Fine Art and Architecture in Ukraine. The city said her work "is inspired by a mixture of stories, songs, and legends that surround our real and imagined worlds—natural and cultural, historic and prehistoric."

Of the butterfly image specifically, the post said it "appears to dance in motion, suggesting joy, cultural pride, and the beauty of tradition continuing to evolve."

The exhibition is supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the City of Medicine Hat. The work can be seen in person at the Esplanade through the end of October.