The Multidimensionality of the Symbolic Universe of Roman Romanyshyn

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the symbolic contexts of the creativity of Lviv artist Roman Romanyshyn, whose works are distinguished not only by filigree execution technique and innovativeness but also by multilayered symbolic meanings, which in the space of his personal exhibition have become a deep and consistent visual story. The artist uses symbolic codes at a subconscious level, not by a pre-conceived concept, which is the most consistent with the nature of symbolic masterpieces, creating and decoding of which one cannot accomplish solely by reason. The author turns to geometric symbolizations using, for example, the image of a large-scale triangle consisting, in its turn, of numerous triangular etching puzzles with symbolic images to visualize the idea of the social hierarchy. Furthermore, following the escalating graphic experiments of M. C. Escher, the artist creates a Magic Cube and many other filigree etchings that appear before the eyes of the viewer as symbolic labyrinths, which encode numerous codes, thanks to which each of us, depending on the individual content of one’s inner world, can build peculiar symbolic-associative chains, acting as co-creator of multilayered works of the author.