The Crimea in Halftones

An exhibition of Crimean watercolorists is being currently held in the exhibit hall of the Ukrainian Culture Fund, organized by the UCF and the Crimean League of Watercolorists. Most likely, the organizers did not aim at any thematically or stylistically restricted pattern or wholesome arrangement. Yet there is no doubt that the display is dominated by a host of landscapes. Naturally, all are Crimean. This appears to suffice to make one perceive the whole exposition as inherently harmonious, even with a touch of finesse, but for very few exceptions and the latter only serve to emphasize the spontaneously developed rule (A. Sukhorukykh’s “Knitting” and V. Trusov’s “Folklore Motif”).

Works on display present a versatility of style and technique. N. Dudchenko of Yevpatoriya (“Lilac Shrubs in a Park”), V. Protsenko of Sevastopol (“At the End of Summer” and “Clouds”), and A. Sobko of Bilohorsk (“Evening”) offer geographically precise and simultaneously chamber-like solutions of the Crimean theme. A. Kropko’s watercolor landscapes (Simferopol) are without doubt connected with certain Crimean realities, yet their implication is not observation but philosophic generalization, at times truly world-encompassing (“The Southern Sky” and “Grass and Domes”). A. Useyinov (Bakhchysarai district) and Ye. Molchanova (Simferopol) took a different road, relying not so much on the traditional watercolor art as on Far East graphics, at times emerging almost calligraphic. Converting an image into a symbol seems their main objective. At the same time, terseness and expressiveness are quite conspicuous in every work (Molchanova’s “Juniper,” Useyinov’s “Bakhchysarai” and “Biasalska Valley” series). Finally, Shypylin’s watercolors (Sevastopol) are not only among the most interesting canvases on display, but also the center and nucleus of the whole exposition. His landscape’s geographic belonging is quite relative. His paintings reflect not so much the real Crimea as the artist’s romantic dream (“In Memory of Aleksandr Green” triptych: “A Quiet Morning,” “White Lilac,” and “A Castle”), and some have nothing to do with the Crimea (“Full Moon” and “Over the River”).