Developing a taste for art
Paduano Arte, a privately owned gallery of Italian painting, has been developing in Donetsk for seven years now. During this period it moved three times in the central part of the city and hosted several dozen personal and general exhibits of Italian and Ukrainian artists. Moreover, two auctions of modern Ukrainian and classical art have been held.
This gallery in Donetsk is an exclusive representative of a network of galleries by Italian Antonio Paduano. In fact, it was his idea to open a gallery in Ukraine that would specialize in Italian art. “We prefer Italians, but in Ukraine we also keep track of young artists, and if we receive proposals, we certainly put them into life,” Mykola ANTONOVYCH, founder and director of the gallery, says.
Today this is Ukraine’s only gallery that specializes in modern Italian painting. Italian works account for more than half of Paduano Arte’s collection. These are beautiful Neapolitan landscapes, portraits and still lifes by Antonio Lucio, Andrea Patrisi, Nino Morra, Giovanni Parlato and others. However, the gallery’s drawing card and object of pride are portraits by Gianni Strino, one of the most acclaimed modern Italian painters.
In addition to Italian painting, the gallery also features Ukrainian painters and sculptors. Moreover, it includes not only modern art, but also fin de siecle classicism, luxury items and antiques.
“Our goal today is to shape the tastes of Donetsk residents. We constantly acquaint our painters with their foreign counterparts and bring private exhibits of the best and, in our opinion, most interesting painters,” Antonovych says. “We recently held a charitable event jointly with the Maryna Budiak Charitable Foundation. In two weeks we raised UAH 37,000. The proceeds were used to help children with diabetes,” he adds.
The gallery of Italian painting is open on all days of the week. Admission is free. The next exhibit will take place on April 24-28. The invited painter, Dmytro Achkasov, will bring about forty of his watercolors to Donetsk.
