An exhibition of paintings by Mykola Dakhno and Liudmyla Turkevych opened in the Art Mix Gallery.
Dakhno, a known master of watercolors, unfolded a vast array of landscapes, a good part of which lovingly shows Ukrainian nature; mountains and steppes, hills and forests in different seasons. Some canvases have cottages sinking in snow and snow-capped haystacks, while others display forest paths covered with melting snow of the sort you can see when the snow caves in and becomes heavier under sunrays and the trees that start coming back to life and spreading its branches.
Visitors stop in front of the paintings showing the dense vegetation in the summertime with vivid and tender color spots of wild flowers under the canopy of a mighty oak. Autumn landscapes display a variety of shades that the brush of this fine painter so masterfully handles. In the very center of the exhibition is a painting that presents Dakhno in the totally new light: a large sailboat of the ochre-terracotta color against the background of a distant coastline is a symbol of a long and hard journey, fatigue — but not complacency.
Turkevych displayed her canvases for the first time, and they have become a truly fascinating discovery for art lovers. Next to her recent works are the ones she created many years ago. By comparing them, one can understand how the painter’s perception of the world changed over the years. She graduated from the Kyiv Industrial Art College in 1973 and was a student of the well-known painter Vasyl Zabashta at the Art Studio. Then she worked at the Kyiv Souvenir Factory where she created unique samples of folk-style painted miniatures.
Many times her works received awards at international exhibitions. Later Turkevych worked as a production designer of children’s programs and plays on TV and illustrated books. However, she lacked the time to express herself artistically because the family and children were her top priorities. Only after the children had grown up did she resume painting pictures. She appeared to have amassed quite a lot of interesting creative ideas and concepts now splashed over last year’s canvases.
Turkevych’s works resemble an explosion. There is no system or standards to them. The subjects range from icons to phantasmagorias, from philosophical allegory to popular print, and from portrait to landscape. After a long a period of silence the painter started to speak, and her paintings testify to how much she can convey to a thoughtful person.
