Ivan MANAILO (1942-2010), the son of Fedir Manailo, one of the founders of the Transcarpathian school of painting, worked as teacher and director at the Uzhhorod Art College and designer at the Transcarpathian Art Foundation, was one of the organizers and heads of the Association of Professional Artist of Transcarpathia.
The exhibit displays over 70 works of various periods, including Still Life painted in 1961 and shown at the first exhibit of three masters (I. Manailo, V. Prykhodko, F. Seman) and the latest works executed in 2010.
Audiences can see both painted and graphic canvases. They are executed in different techniques: oil painting, painting with acryl, tempera, and gouache, a mixed technique with use of relief pastes, graphic techniques, lithography, charcoal, pencil, watercolor, and others. There are works on such unusual materials as iron grating and foamed polystyrene, as well as those which use uncommon decorative elements, such as bent wire and textiles. This diversity of techniques testifies to the artist’s creative temperament, irresistible interest in the very process of creation, and search for new forms of image-making.
“Ivan Manailo was an experimenting artist,” says his daughter Viktoria MANAILO-PRYKHODKO, one of the exhibit organizers, artist, and art critic. “He would enthusiastically discover to himself new materials and techniques, look for and open new opportunities to implement his creative ideas. Contrary to the statement that it is necessary to stick to the author’s style, Manailo also worked in the realistic manner and sought to interpret various modern trends in his own way. The displayed works show the styles of cubism, expressionism, impressionism, and fauvism, realistic and decorative language of painting. At the same time, all the works of the master show extraordinary emotionality, frankness, and self-sufficient laconism. He was an original and uncommon artist, who stood apart from others. His oeuvre is undoubtedly a bright page in the history of Transcarpathia’s fine arts.”
The artist’s family decided to stage this retrospective exposition in order to remind art connoisseurs of Ivan Manailo. “He lived and worked outside his fatherland for about 10 years, and he died eight years ago – in other words, Transcarpathians have been out of touch with the master’s works for almost 20 years. Besides, the exhibit is being held in this format – concentrated artistic retrospection – for the first time,” Manailo-Prykhodko pointed out.
All the pictures displayed at the exhibit are from private collections. Most of the works are being shown to general public for the first time.
The exhibit will remain open until January 25.
