UIA showcases collections of "Ukrainian Art Through American Eyes" (02/22/04)

UIA showcases collections of "Ukrainian Art Through American Eyes"

NEW YORK - An exhibition of paintings titled "Ukrainian Art Through American Eyes," featuring works from the collections of Grace Kennan Warnecke and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual, will open at the Ukrainian Institute of America, 2 E. 79th St., on February 27, where it will be on view through April 25.

The exhibition opening and reception will be held Friday, February 27, at 6-9 p.m.

The paintings on exhibit will feature the artwork of 22 painters, whose stylistic range encompasses realism, impressionism, as well as abstract and naïve art. Among the work of painters exhibited are such well-known artists as the legendary figure in Soviet Ukrainian art, Mykola Hlushchenko (1901-1977) and the Smolensk-born artist Kateryna Yablonska (1917-), who studied at the Kyiv Art Institute (1935-1941) with the renowned Fedir Krychevsky and later taught at the art institute.

Mr. Hlushchenko, known for his landscapes, still lifes, nudes and portraits, studied and exhibited in Berlin (1924), where he met such key figures as the writer, statesman, and politician Volodymyr Vynnychenko and Oleksander Dovzhenko, then secretary of the Consulate General of the Ukrainian SSR in Germany (who later became a renowned filmmaker), and subsequently in Paris, where he lived and worked for over 10 years, forming close contacts with leading figures of the art world of the time. He was also head artist of the USSR in charge of organizing Soviet trade and industrial exhibits at international expositions.

The paintings on exhibit were acquired in Kyiv between 1998 and 2003. The idea for the exhibition originated with Ms. Warnecke, who lived and worked in Ukraine from 1999 to 2003, where she directed a Kyiv-based program of women's entrepreneurship Winrock International, funded by the USAID.

A frequent visitor and with time, a regular, at the openings and auctions at the galleries of the famed Andriyivsky Uzviz art district in Kyiv's city center, Ms. Warnecke's initial purchases of artwork were progressively built up into a collection, ultimately contributing to her interest of "having a show of Ukrainian art in the U.S.A. for American viewers."

The artists whose work is presented in the exhibition are: Alexey Artamanov, Volodimir Budnikov, A.S. Derbenev, S. Galdeckaja, Mr. Hlushchenko, Yuriy Khymych, Olga Krylova, O. Kryvenko, Evgeniy Luchenko, Yadviga Maciyevska, Vasiliy Makatukcha, Vladyslav Mamsikov, Anastasiya Rak, A.G. Safragalin, Victor Sevastyanov, D. Sharashidze, G. Shishko, Tiberiy Silvashi, E. Vaisberg, Evgenii Volobuev and Ms. Yablonska. The majority of the artists whose work is on exhibit are graduates of the Kyiv Academy of Art, Odesa Grekov College of Art, and the Kharkiv Institute of Art and are members of Ukraine's Union of Artists.

Among the 37 works on view is a 1973 painting titled "Night Shift at the Chernobyl [sic] Nuclear Power Plant," by Mr. Mamsikov, which depicts the construction of the power plant that opened in September 1977 and subsequently brought to the world a harsh lesson on nuclear reactor safety; impressionistic still lifes and landscape paintings by Hlushchenko; and the naïve paintings of Ms. Rak (1925-), rendered in the tradition of reverse painting on glass.

The "Ukrainian Art Through American Eyes" exhibit is curated by Walter Hoydysh, UIA vice-president and director of programs.

An illustrated exhibition catalogue will be available at the exhibition opening. A preview of the exhibition is to be found on the UIA website: www.ukrainianinstitute.org. UIA gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.; telephone, (212) 288-8660.

The Ukrainian Institute of America is a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to showcase and support Ukrainian culture with an emphasis on visual arts and music. The institute was founded more than 50 years ago by William Dzus, a prominent Ukrainian inventor, industrialist and philanthropist.

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