UKRANIAN FOLK ICONS

As the world watches the on-going crises in the Ukraine,  we continue our prayers for peace in the area- and all regions of the world. Perhaps these two artists can present us some joy in the day, as they are both talented, yet their work is different from the more traditional icons we have seen thus far.

A Ukranian artist, totally differnet from the past iconographers we have presented is  OLYA KRAVCHENKO, who  was born in Lviv in 1985. She studied at the Lviv National Academy of Art, Department of the Artwork Restoration from 2002 – 2008. She also participated in restoration practice of Painting Restoration Department in Specialized Academic-Restoration Institute “Ukrzakhidproektrestavratsiya”.

In 2008 she received a grant from the  Scholarship Program of the Ministry of Culture of Poland, «Gaude Polonia», Warsaw.  She is  a member of National Artists Society of Ukraine.

 She has a certain whimsy to her art in her style and use of color. Yet her message is no less important than other artists from her school.

"In my artwork, I try to reveal and expand the ancient tradition of icon art. I paint with egg tempera on a wood board, using gilding and silvering, just as the old masters did. Besides, I often combine classical painting with contemporary art forms, such as installation and multimedia art. Together they form a coherent and unique impression." 

"When I create my icons, I set myself a task of showing a centuries-old plot in a new light. I try to take a sacred plot most distorted in the contemporary world and express it through the prism of my inner vision and feelings, to give it a new voice, restoring people’s love for sacred art in general. It is always a challenge for me.”

Another very colorful and creative Ukranian artist is  OKSANA ANDRUSHCHENKO, one of the artists in the Ukraine who paints on glass, as her grandmother used to ornament shirts, arranging thousand-year old letters-symbols in texts about perpetual things: Life, Death, Love.

She  is also a member of the National Association of Artists of Ukraine.. She teaches at  the department of graphic design of Lviv National Academy of Arts. She has had many exhibits and her works can be found in Ukraine and abroad.

Oksana is fascinated by the ethnic art of Ukraine. She created the exhibition called “In the ornament”. She presents still lives and landscapes accompanied by painted wooden stools and chairs. This kind of activity is not new for Oksana, she has painted walls and furniture and even floors while decorating the interiors.

 In 2017 she was awarded the title:  The Honored Artist of  Ukraine.

It is interesting to note that all of the women we have presented from the Ukraine are from the Lviv area, but Lviv is known to be the home of an experimental school of iconography. 

The city has been a historic crossroads of different cultures ruled (and occupied) in modern times by the Poles, the Austrian Habsburgs, Tsarist Russians, the Nazis, and Soviet Communists.

 It also lies on the boundary where the Byzantine East meets the Latin West. The dominant faith in the region is Ukrainian Greek Catholicism, which claims allegiance to the Holy See in Romebut follows the Eastern Orthodox form of worship, including the veneration of icons.