Energy of Unfinished Searching 

The Lazzaro Gallery has its established niche on the structured Western art market (something hard to imagine in Ukraine's chaos) and is known as a venue of subtle taste and constant quest for creative discoveries. The two Ukrainians knew what they were doing choosing this gallery; Yevhen Prokopov is immersed in a creative search with his nonfigurative, intimate chamber plasticity, and Les Poderevyansky's large canvases are believed by Mr. Lazzaro to be the place where his love for freedom and creative risk-taking meet. In a word, the gallery owner and his visitors like what they see this time. On Easter Eve it was announced exhibition, scheduled to last from February 27 until April 10, would be extended for another week. So what was it that attracted US public interest to the Ukrainian neofigurativists? Mr. Lazzaro says that Les Podervyansky's paintings are free from conventionality and are built on the principles of non-Euclidean geometry, yet the underlying Ukrainian baroque tradition is clearly traceable in his world view. After April 17 the exposition will be moved to Canada. As for the display in the United States, the artist is known in Ukraine for his love of apt remarks (that can hardly be appreciated in North America due to the language barrier, as certain idioms are untranslatable). On one occasion he said, "Everything was arranged quite well, barring the absence of Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton, Sharon Stone, and Madonna."