“Petrykivka – the pearl of Ukraine” exhibition opens in the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Paris

It represents more than 60 works by a master of folk art Halyna Nazarenko – painted plates, a chest, paintings on canvas and paper. The exhibition is devoted to the 20th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, and one of its initiators was the first Ukrainian ambassador to France, Yurii Kochubei. “Organizing this exhibition was not easy,” said Halyna Nazarenko at a press conference in Dnipropetrovsk, “We received a lot of help from the “Ukraine – France” society, the Dnipropetrovsk authorities, who helped publish the booklet, and also the embassy in Paris, which delivered the exhibits on vehicles.” The original Petrykivka painting attracted attention of the representatives of Ukrainian diaspora, the French connoisseurs of art, including the mayor of a small town in Normandy. He saw the information about the Ukrainian folk art exhibition on the embassy’s website and suggested holding the exposition in his native land after Paris.

“This exhibition represents mainly works created in the last decade,” said Mrs. Nazarenko, “I like to experiment. I tried to paint on textile, cut glass, or to decorate interiors – a church and the walls of a restaurant in Kyiv.” Mrs. Nazarenko draws since childhood, when her mother bought her and her brother an album with pencils. Her uncle was an artist who practiced the Petrykivka painting, and Halyna herself graduated from an art school and the Myrhorod Art College. She prefers to do her works in watercolor, gouache or acrylic paints. “I like to examine the works of old masters, especially the ‘classics’ of the Petrykivka painting – Tetiana and Fedir Panko,” she said. Halyna Nazarenko’s works were exhibited eleven times on personal expositions in Ukraine, as well as abroad – in Edmonton, Canada. Despite the fact that Petrykivka masters work in various genres, Mrs. Nazarenko prefers traditional floral patterns. “Formerly, such paintings were done in many Ukrainian villages,” said the craftswoman, “But our Petrykivka was lucky. In this place, due to the Cossack traditions, we have managed to preserve this folk art. There is a lot of positive energy and sun warmth which lies in the Petrykivka painting.”