Olena Pryduvalova is known both in Ukraine and abroad. Her works are regularly on display in galleries, specifically abroad, and they are preserved in private collections over the world. She won the first place in the competition “The Outstanding Female Artists of Ukraine” in 1998.
The exhibit features floristic still lifes and urban landscapes, as well as author’s motanka dolls. According to the artists, the exhibit is a brainchild of the gallery’s owner Olena Yahodovska. “Nearly a year ago I painted a still life series, and we decided that August is very rich in flowers and this exhibit would be a farewell to summer. The flowers are an explosion of colors. The nature gives so much freedom that you can simply paint colors with large brushes. My favorite still life among those on display is the one with flowers in black background. It was created without any effort, it is a pure emotion. This particular still life is a part of a floral triptych; the impetus to paint this triptych came from an exhibit at Dukat Gallery, where I was given many flowers and did not want them to fade without trace. Other works appeared during a plein air painting. The temperature was 40 degrees above zero in the shade, and it was impossible to work outdoors. I made a bouquet, turned it round, and drew sketches indoors,” Pryduvalova explained.
The whole series of the painter’s works depict Kyiv’s landscapes. However, Kyiv is constantly changing and these changes, which are far from being positive for the most part, do not come unnoticed: “The spirit of the city is vanishing, we have almost lost it. I remember my childhood, when Kyiv’s yards were all green and full of flowers. Now we can hardly see any of this. I can be sorry for this, but I can do nothing. Life is going on, everything is changing. I love Kyiv of my childhood, from my memories.”
Dolls are the exposition’s special treat. Pryduvalova makes them when she gets tired of painting: “These dolls are not traditional, I create my variations on a theme. A couple of years ago we organized the exhibit ‘Kyiv baroque’ and dolls fitted there very much. Then I came to like the process of creating them. This series is suprematic, you can trace there the influence of Kazimir Malevich.”
The owner of the Tadzio gallery Yahodovska has been acquainted with the artist since the time when they both were studying at the Kyiv State Institute of Art: “Olena Pryduvalova’s creative work is exclusive in Ukraine. In the institute her paintings were marked with incredible freedom. Her creative manner is open and free. For me she is an artist who is on the same level as Maria Pryimachenko, Kateryna Bilokur, in terms of her worldview and openness. She has always possessed this joyful perception of the world. Stereotypes have never been present in her works. How does she manage to preserve such an eye? Pablo Picasso said once that great artists, like children, learn to paint for their whole life. In her paintings the feeling of sincerity, purity, and freedom is the most important thing. They are substance which brings this freedom to the highest level.
“The situation with the contemporary art is critical in our country, because dealers are not shown the studios of such artists as Olena. She does not like artistic get-togethers, because they distract her. In spite of that her works sell well. All foreigners who know something about art bring Olena’s works abroad. She is a face of Ukraine for them. Three years ago our gallery hosted an exhibit of her works and 28 works were purchased then. We changed the exposition every day.”
The exhibit in Tadzio will last for three weeks. By mid-September the visitors of the gallery can say goodbye to summer, together with Olena Pryduvalova.
