Art of Fire of Ukraine in the Context of European Artistic Process (Exemplified by National and International Competitive Exhibitions of Ceramic Art and Glass Art)

Abstract

The article presents a detailed analysis of achievements of Ukrainian artists working in the field of art of fire, in particular professional ceramics and glassworks, while attracting close attention in the general artistic process of the 1980s to 2010s. Losses of the art industry in Ukraine in the 1990s did not stop the artists from searching the ways to streamline decorative imagery, as well as non‑standard approaches to materials in the individual work of artists in this field. European and global biennials and triennials of decorative art considerably contributed to finding new ways of the art of fire development. During such events masters of various artistic trends and schools exchanged their experience. And that proved to be the most powerful stimulus for both intensification of creativity and strengthening experimental activities in exposition works of Ukrainian artists at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. Since then, Ukrainian masters of ceramics and glassworks have begun mastering the heritage of artists from other countries, which contributed to the diversification of formal techniques of Ukrainian artists of decorative art. This, in its turn, has led to the emergence of various conceptual works, installations, and complicated spatial compositions. The author also carefully considers national competitive exhibitions, all‑Ukrainian presentations and symposia, which helped to introduce the latest artistic ideas and technologies of the art of fire masters. This study is actualized by globalization processes taking place in civilization. Stating specific challenges posed by the globalization to national culture, the author, at the same time, finds arguments in favor of its positive effects on art. A rapid entry of Ukrainian ceramic and glass artists into the global context at the turn of the 20th – 21st centuries, does not bring about a danger of dissolving in it, given the nature of professional decorative art of Ukraine. The art of fire is perceived as a powerful branch in the field of national culture with its inherent features of authentic spiritual genetics, as a dynamic balance of centuries‑old traditions and modern fine arts. It is paradoxical, the author believes, that globalization generates the opposite process as well: it directs Ukrainian artists to search for archetypes of their own culture, returns to their national historical heritage, and stimulates the preservation of national identity, as a result of which the art of fire becomes an important factor of national and cultural identification. In the context of professional decorative art problems and from the viewpoint of national and cultural identification in the conditions of globalization processes in Ukraine, such an aspect of studying the art of fire within the field of art history science is considered for the first time.