The Art of Ukraine

We recently shared the work and legacy of Polina Rayko, a Ukrainian artist who funnelled her grief into paintings full of character and light. Like the rest of the world, we have been watching the situation in Ukraine unfold with horror and disbelief. This week we want to emphasise and share the work of artists from Ukraine, a country rich in history and culture.

Maria Prymachenko

This self-taught artist (1909-1997) worked with paint, embroidery and ceramics. Similar to Polina Rayko’s work, her aesthetic is defined by the use of strong bold colours, typical of folk art style. Her works had even caught the attention of Pablo Picasso, who after seeing her talent manifested ‘I bow down before the artistic miracle of this brilliant Ukrainian’.

Rita Maikova

A graduate of Fine Arts from The Kiev National University of Technology, Rita Maikova has had solo exhibitions in Ukraine and has also exhibited at ExpoDubai. Her work goes between the lines of abstract art and surrealism, resembling those of Salvador Dalí. An explosion of colour, her art is full of details that you could stare at for hours.

Rita Maikova is donating to the Ukrainian Army through her work. The painting below titled ‘I Pray for Peace’ was made on the first day of the war.

Margo Sarkisova

In a diary called ‘War Diary’ artist Margo Sarkisova, artistically known as Margo Persimmon is using watercolours to narrate the raw story of the displacement she is going through to evacuate Ukraine. Her work usually specialises in print making.

Her work is globally recognised by UNESCO, who honoured her by declaring that the year 2009 was the year of Maria Prymachenko. As a result of the latest Russian invasion, the Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum was burned down, losing up to 25 of her works. Below, people in San Francisco have created a mural based on her painting.

Anatoliy Kryvolap

Born in 1946, this contemporary Ukrainian artist graduated from the Kyiv Art Institute in 1976. From there, his artistic personality evolved to the point of establishing a strong relationship with colour and landscape. This has lead him to create incredible artworks that have been sold in a variety of auctions with one of them being Phillips in London, which sold for almost $190,000.

Colour is at the core of his paintings and Kryvolap looks to trigger a strong emotional effect and impact on the viewer.

These are just a few of the many Ukrainian artists we would love to share. Our love and thoughts are with the people of Ukraine.

Denis Sarazhin

Denis Sarazhin was born in Ukraine in 1982. He specialised in painting and was awarded with a 1st degree diploma for ‘Excellence in Painting’ from the Ukrainian Art Academy. Since 2007 he has been a member of Kharkov’s section of the association of Ukraine’s Artists’ Alliance. His work is full of expression and intricate details of realism.

Delicate in line weight, Margo’s illustrations show strong personality and character. Drawings for ‘War Diary’ will be part of a charity exhibition in France and all earnings will go to a humanitarian support charity.