Lessons of life and graphics
The Museum of Hetmanship hosts Tymofii Liashchuk’s exhibit
The works of this Ukrainian painter, graphic, and poster artist depict the variegated picture of the 20th-century art. The exposition of the new exhibit is made up of his early works, whereas Liashchuk’s artistic explorations and discoveries began 60 years ago.
Liashchuk is reluctant to speak about himself; he prefers to speak about people he loves: his relatives, teachers, and students. His life impressions are reflected in his landscapes, plot paintings, and portraits. Liashchuk admits that a crucial event for him was the encounter with Volodymyr Lytvyn, a student at the Dnipropetrovsk Art Studio who gave the future painter the first professional painting lessons. Later he studied in the Shevchenko Kyiv School of Arts where he was taught by such outstanding masters as Olena Yablonska and Yevhen Volobuiev. This was followed by the Kyiv Institute of Arts, Vasyl Kasian’s studio, and inspired work on his paintings.
Liashchuk prefers a realistic painting manner, which he has employed to paint panels, movie billboards, and theater sets. He has dedicated several decades to painting. Watercolors can be called Liashchuk’s passion, while various manifestations of life are revealed in his posters. The genre of poster art, with its laconicism and expressiveness, has brought fame and recognition to Liashchuk and made him winner of numerous competitions.
Since 1964 he has been heading the studio of poster art at the Kyiv State Institute of Arts and has trained a whole pleiad of graphic artists. So, Liashchuk’s poster images on religious themes gradually gave way to icon painting.
His artistic path has not been a bed of roses. There was a period in his life when he was accused of nationalism, of ostentatious pictures, and an inclination for bourgeois ideology. In 1994, the studio of poster art was eliminated by the then leadership and Liashchuk’s 30-year-long pedagogical activity came to an end.
“I was deprived of not only professor wages but also neural overexertion,” the artist recalls. However, the artistic inspiration did not leave him, and he offered to the audiences over 20 solo exhibits. The current vernissage held in the Museum of Hetmanship is proof that Liashchuk is full of artistic energy. The master has recently marked his 80th anniversary. He knows the real value of love, devotion, and self-sacrifice — all of this is present in his new works.
