Ivan Vitsko: A Well-Known Ukrainian Innovator of Porcelain Shaping and Decorating

Abstract

During the second half of the 20th century, art ceramics in Ukraine is characterized by a synthesis of tradition and innovative technological achievements. It was determined that during the period of rapid political and socio-cultural changes, the transformations of decorative and applied art, in particular the art of ceramics, occurred. Ivan Mykhailovych Vitsko was one of the key personalities enriching Ukrainian porcelain. Investigating his cultural heritage and his experiments in the production of porcelain attests the relevance of the issue. Among the main achievements of I. Vitsko are the use of improved and completely new techniques of decorating with underglaze salts, “crackle” with gold, gray chandelier of the “crackle” type, the introduction of complex decals with the use of gold raised the works of this master to a new level of quality. It was established that the artist performed his works based on the achievements of European porcelain manufacturers, looked up to local traditions of ornamentation, and successfully synthesized the aesthetic characteristics of the products and their functional potential. It was determined that the author’s innovative works include a tea set (1958), a tea and coffee set “Baranivka-58” (1958), the sets “Sunflowers” (1959), “Golden” (1976), the set for galushky “Traditional” (1967, 1972), the set of teapots “Sofia of Kyiv” (1980, 1981, 1982), and vases (1967–1982). The aim of the paper is to reveal the non-trivial technological and artistic features of the works of Ivan Mykhailovych Vitsko, created in the 1950s–1980s, and to determine the influence of his work on the general level of development of Ukrainian ceramic art.