Ivan Marchuk’s Macrame

This artist is justifiably referred to as a classic of contemporary Ukrainian art. Trying to object to this is like spitting against the wind. Because Ivan Marchuk is indeed one of the most visited and acknowledged painters of the present day. Being a critic of his creativeness is also less than gratifying for anyone but professional, so one can only marvel that wonderful world which the artist conveys to his canvases.

An intertwining of lines, beams, dreams ... The latest exhibit of his works opened at the Dim Art Gallery, at the Central State Archive-Museum of Literature and Art of Ukraine. The exposition presents some thirty canvases traditionally united by motives of the Ukrainian land, nature, and daily life. His landscapes could be categorized conventionally as the themes of snow, forest, moon, and night over village homes. The subject matter is clearly traced and the masterful portrayals can only be admired. When studying Ivan Marchuk’s graphic techniques, one is bound to wonder how he could do it. This is a secret which the master is not willing to disclose. “I’d like to have several pupils, but I wouldn’t be able to share my style with them. Not because I am stingy. As a teacher, I could share with them that tempestuous creativity which has haunted me all my life. I could teach them to perceive and reproduce beauty... But the style and technique... Why make and duplicate copyists? Let them remain original...” An artist, after finding his own original self, remains true to it all his life. Perhaps he took after his parents, weavers both of them, but he weaves his works on canvas.

The exposition embraces various creative periods, ranging from the mid-1970s through the 1980s, wondering different worlds in the 1990s, to the latest canvases with paint that still seems damp. His stubborn inner integrity, vividly manifest in all works, is amazing. No trends and impressions have ever affected his easily identifiable style and original perception. There are few artists whose pictures are recognized at first sight, so the viewer exclaims that’s him, of course. Nobody but him! Marchuk’s lace work of thick lines that seem made of inlaid straw cannot be mistaken for anything else. His “woven brush stroke” conveys with equal subtlety the freshness of The Firt Snow and Snow All Round, the heaviness of A Gloomy Day, the refined aesthetic touch of Winter Forest Lace and The Moon Rising Over the Water. There are only a couple of pictures showing his experimenting with a touch of surrealism, including The Last Ray and Moonlit Night. Here the artists brings forth disproportionately large apples. Spatially uncentered, they immediately catch the viewer’s eye, acting as additional symbols. Color plays a special role in his lyrical landscapes. On the whole, his canvases appear quite gloomy, so the light has to struggle through thick rime. More often than not, his pictures are highlighted by the full moon that seems shrouded in a melancholic veil, or by moonlight magically reflected in chosen objects and planes. The artist arbitrarily divides his light into beams, censuring their landing places (e.g., The Moon Glimpsing the Yard, The Moon is Our Guest). It is hard to assume that Marchuk reflects the reality, rather the latter finds its reflection in Marchuk. It is peculiar to all talents of his caliber.