The past few weeks have brought four amazing new Ukrainian artists to my attention. I’ve seen their works shared and pieces and stories from each of them have really resonated with me so I wanted to share them myself.
Maria Prymachenko (1909-1997)
The destruction of a historical museum in Ivankiv which housed many of Prymachenko’s works has brought this wonderful artist to my attention although at this time we are unsure how many of her works survive. She was a Ukrainian folk artist, the kind of art I love, and she worked across painting, ceramics, embroidery and tapestry. She, like Rayko below, also painted the walls of her house. Her work is brightly coloured and filled with messages of peace. She lost both her brother and partner in the Second World War. The theme of good and evil resonates throughout her work which is filled with birds, ‘good’ animals and flowers. Her work belongs alongside other naïve artists and she has been honoured with the Shevchenko National Prize as well as by UNESCO who declared 2009 the year of Prymachenko.
Sonia Delaunay (1885-1979)
My first introduction to this artist was studying her for GCSE. I designed and made a cushion influenced by the new form of abstraction she pioneered called Orphism. Born from a blanket she made for her son, the patterns and fabric reminded her of the works she had seen in the houses of Ukrainian peasants. Filled with energy the style mirrored the new modern age of cars and movement with strong colours and geometric shapes. Like many female artists Delaunay worked across different mediums including costume, textile, fashion and set design as well as illustration and painting.
Polina Rayko (1928-2004)
Rayko was a self taught artist who created a house filled to the brim with her wonderful paintings which she explained as ‘brightening her life’. After suffering the tragic loss of her husband and daughter, as well as the imprisonment of her son, Rayko used her art to heal. Aged 69 Rayko used cheap paint supplies from the local market to paint, allowing her emotions to be released, turning her grief into beauty and giving meaning to the healing power of art. She painted animals and portraits, Christian Iconography as well as Soviet Propaganda using items she found and used in her daily life as her inspiration.
Alla Horska (1929-1970)
Part of a group of resistance artists in the 1960’s Horska advocated for the Ukrainian language and culture as well as artistic freedom away from the demands made on art by the Soviet authorities. In 1960 she was a founding member of the Creative Youth Club The Contemporary in Kyiv where the groundwork for the cultural identity of Ukraine was championed. Like many artists her output included both painting, lino-cut, mosaics and murals as well as stage sets. She was murdered under mysterious circumstances in 1970. I absolutely love her image ‘Self Portrait with Son’ from 1960.
The Folio 