Collages and Levkas by Yulia Maistrenko-Vakulenko

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze collages and levkas by Y. Maistrenko-Vakulenko on the non-religious themes, performed in 1990–2010.Research methodology. The study of the works by a new generation of Ukrainian artists, which was fully formed after 1991, is just beginning. This applies, in particular, to Y. Maistrenko-Vakulenko, one of the most expressive contemporary Ukrainian graphic artists. Her works attracted the attention of art critics in the late 1990s. Such esteemed researchers as O. Fedoruk, O. Avramenko, O. Tytarenko wrote about her. But the vast majority of materials about the artist are the articles in catalogues for exhibitions or in periodicals.Results. The most famous parts of Y. Maistrenko-Vakulenko’s works are etchings, levkas and collages on religious themes: the triptych The Last Supper (1998), the cycle Jesus, the God of Human (2000), the series The Temples of Ukraine (2003) and The Wooden Churches of Ukraine (2014–2015) and others. But no less interesting are the non-religious, symbolic works of the artist. They are characterized by the capacity of the symbolic images used, as well as the unexpectedness and even a certain creativity of their interpretation and application.The collages The Gallery of the Winter Garden and The Fountain of Bakhchisaray (both 1999) are an interesting author’s fantasy on the theme of Crimea, its ancient history, rich culture, as well as related “tourist” stereotypes. The diptych is characterized by a harmonious and unexpected combination of poetry and irony. The collages The Lamp “Orchids” (I, II) and The Fountain of Life (all 2001) are part of the series The Lights of the Garden of Paradise and, so to speak, accompany the three other works, more important by the theme, which are also its parts — Eve, Lilith and Exile from Paradise (all 2001). That is why, The Lamp “Orchids” and The Fountain of Life are characterized by special sophistication and decoration. But at the same time they are based on traditional and common symbolic images (flower, water, light) and are full of thoughts about life as “a cell for the soul”, its ephemerality, uniqueness and beauty.Turning to levkas (exact definition: levkas, cork tree, author’s technique), the artist also started with two symbolic compositions — The Bird of Paradise and Kill the Dragon (both 2003), which create the impression of elegant letters from a medieval manuscript and at the same time they are paradoxical graphic aphorisms about the nature of Good and Evil. The works Pomegranate Juice, Three Cuckoos for Happiness (both 2004), Storm in a Glass (2006), Dedicated to the Fortresses of Ukraine (2010) are performed in the levkas technique. All of them are distinguished by a special elegant decorativeness and irony, which many years later reappeared in the harsh world of Y. Maistrenko-Vakulenko.Novelty. The article is one of the first publications about the creative work of Y. Maistrenko-Vakulenko.The practical significance. The research is part of the individual planned theme of the author Ukrainian Graphics of the Second Half of the 80s of the 20th Century — 10s of the 21st Century: Between Self-Identification and Globalization and the general planned theme of the Department of Fine Arts and Decorative Arts of M. T. Rylsky Institute for Art Studies, Folklore and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Ukrainian Culture in the Context of National Humanitarian Discourse and European Studies.Conclusions. It should be noted that the symbolic and religious graphics of the artist are very closely related, their themes and images are constantly “intertwined”, mutually “feeding” and enriching each other.