Egypt and the Carpathians

The exhibition is dedicated to the 65th birthday anniversary of Vasyl Bodnarchuk, honored artist of Ukraine, associate professor at the studio pottery department at the Lviv Academy of Arts. Bodnarchuk graduated from the Kosiv School of Applied Arts (studio pottery department) and the Lviv Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts, where he was taught by Zenovii Flinta and Roman Selsky.

The artist has been taking an active part in exhibitions in Ukraine and abroad since 1976. His works can be seen at the Museum of Modern Ukrainian Fine Arts (Kyiv), Museum of Ethnography and Art Crafts (Lviv), National Museum of Ukrainian Pottery in Opishne, many art galleries and private collections in Ukraine, the United States, Canada, Poland, and Russia. Eight personal exhibitions of pottery and paintings prove that Bodnarchuk’s work has become a noticeable phenomenon in Ukrainian contemporary art.

COMMENTARY

Roman YATSIV, professor, art historian, special to The Day:

“The exhibition is captivating because in his watercolor and pastel drawings from life Vasyl Bodnarchuk demonstrates his skillfulness and his reaction to what he has seen as a traveler. The theme of the exhibition is this year’s trips to Egypt and the Carpathians. I think that he even made a conscious comparison of the two locations. Bodnarchuk compared Egypt’s culture and its scanty soils, dominated by sand, where people have to work really hard to grow at least something, and the culture of the Carpathians, rich is natural resources we often do not even notice. This contrast caught Bodnarchuk’s eye due to the different economies, different attitudes towards the land. The artist thinks that we must respect our land more and be able to notice its unique advantages. From a purely artistic point of view these works are valuable because of Bodnarchuk’s high professionalism. I have been following his exhibitions for 15 years (starting from his 50th birthday anniversary exhibition), and I must say that he has grown significantly in terms of his views on life. That is why his view on most ordinary things and common motifs is enriched with extensive experience, thoughtful selection of material, professional combining, and wide range of formal means (despite the fact that it is drawing from life).

“The exhibition stirred great interest among Bodnarchuk’s colleagues and students. After all, he always saw to it that the young people could engage in active artistic life and look for ways of self-realization. Therefore, the exhibition has an artistic and pedagogic consequence. I think that it will be noticed by many Lviv residents.”