Chronometry of Roman Romanyshyn

For over two decades the free Ukrainian art has been solving problems, which have no analogues in the world around us. We go back to the traditions of Ukrainian avant-garde and, at the same time, assimilate the ideology of postmodernism foreign to us, preserve authenticity of folk art and fall under the influence of cosmopolitism of modern artistic trends. After a treacherous Puritan modesty of the Soviet times works of art are transformed into a precious commodity, generating absurd and shocking race of “the most expensive artists.”

Amongst endless trends finally the signs of stabilization appear: individual figures able to successfully synthesize mental identification of themselves as a part of their own people and transnational language of contemporary art. One of such figures is Lviv-based artist Roman Romanyshyn.

His art work does not need any “translation.” More than 50 solo exhibitions of the artist were held in art galleries all over the world. The images he creates reach to ancestral human values, thus, the idea behind them is clear in Spain, Canada, China, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Holland, Japan, and other countries.

Creative work is nothing special for Romanyshyn. It is as if a completely natural state of life, just like the heartbeat, blood circulation, warping thoughts. He does not need to focus his creative efforts: it seems that he is constantly in a creative state, even in his sleep…

Romanyshyn’s artistic formulas are rather simple. They feed on love and “dislike,” and between these two – the full range of typical human emotions and associations. The source of love is family, the closest people, and the native land – Ukraine. Accordingly, “dislike” is focused on all those, who make hard for those you love…

The artist does not tire of building his own surreal world in which everything is possible, where time and space boundaries are obliterated and where divisions between artistic types and genres and between established rules for using materials and techniques disappear. His blissful work reveals the secrets – known only to him – of organic combination of archaic elements and computer technology, the special atmosphere of a traditional countryside house and global digital code of contemporaneity. Flat graphic and landscape compositions are freely transformed into 3D forms, acquiring kinetic motion and surprising acoustic effects. They feed from a voluntary sacrifice – part of the painter’s soul, a source of powerful energy which overflows so relentlessly that the viewer cannot remain indifferent.

The secret of Romanyshyn’s creative inspiration is in constant movement, both physical and intellectual. He does not tire of learning and philosophically cognizing the world: “When the English are asked how they manage to keep their lawns so neat, they offer a very simple recipe: you need to mow and water, mow and water. And do this for a hundred years… Artistic activity is something like that to me. You need to read and travel, read and travel – as long and as far as possible.” The artist called this reading-and-traveling process “Chronometry” and realized it in a special project now on display in the Mystetsky Arsenal as part of Art Kyiv Contemporary 2013.

His main spiritus movens is the perennial debate: what is more important, the end result or the very process of achieving it? At a point when yet another level is reached, when the accomplishment becomes evident, when it can seemingly be successfully developed by exploiting the already tested expressive means – the painter moves on. It is as if head wind, a current of fresh air, and an endless road to the unknown are more important to him.