Chicago artist holds 27th show (12/08/91)

Chicago artist holds 27th show

by Daria Markus

CHICAGO - Presently, our attention is so absorbed by the political situation in Ukraine, that hardly any other activity can compete with it, including works of artists.

Yet we tend to forget that it is the artist, with his or her intuitive emotional perception, that provides us with a special dimension of understanding both of ourselves and of our reality, a kind of understanding that neither scientific research nor systematic arguments in politics or philosophy can contribute. The art exhibit of Anatole Kolomayets held in Chicago on November 1-3, can testify to that.

Mr. Kolomayets is well known to the Ukrainian community, not only in the United States, but also in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, England, France and Canada, where over 400 of his works are located in private collections and galleries. The November 22 issue of the magazine "Ukraina,'' published in Kiev, dedicated its color pull-out section to Mr. Kolomayets' works, and featured an article on Mr. Kolomayets, his brother Yuriy, and their late father, Ivan.

In the spring of 1990, Mr. Kolomayets participated in an International Poster Exhibition "Ethnos" that was held on the site of Pecherska Lavra in Kiev. There, the artists who organized this impressive exhibit voted Mr. Kolomayets' work the first prize. The only other artist from the diaspora to participate in that exhibit was Edward Kozak-Eko. Mr. Kolomayets' work was included in the prestigious '"Lviv '91 Renaissance" biennale. He held individual exhibits besides Chicago in Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, Philadelphia, Toronto, New York, Los Angeles and Denver. This was his 27th individual exhibit.

The most common underlying theme of the works of Mr. Kolomayets reaches to his national roots. It manifests itself in the primordial cultural traits in the cycle of his Scythian paintings. It leaves a mark of serfdom on the faces and figures in his paintings. Even his colors are not immune to the psychological impressions that symbolized oppression.

But today his paintings have became more radiant. Even when the forms or objects are not clearly and realistically defined, since life itself is not precisely defined and the perspectives are somewhat blurred, the feeling for the fundamental reality is a part of the artist's vision.

Each of the 38 large oil paintings on the exhibit deserves a detailed exploration, but, for practical reasons, one has to limit this exercise to a randomly selected few. Most of the paintings were done in the past two years. All of them show an indelible signature of the painter's brush strokes and composition of colors, no matter if they are edging towards abstraction, realism, or naivete. His strong brushstrokes, decisive forms, resolve color blocks are as much a part of the "Apostle'' that projects a visionary power, or the gypsy woman that can tell one's fortune, both good and bad, as the series devoted to the Chornobyl tragedy, where "The Mothers of Chornobyl" stand as witnesses to that which was, which is, and which will be forever.

Yet, from the fire of Chornobyl comes "The Renaissance," "The Declaration," and "The Green Birds" which, regardless if it was or was not the artist's intention, remind the viewer of Lina Kostenko's "Green Wings" that in another time and place also heralded a spring and a rebirth.

Some paintings humorously depict current events. Shakespeare's "To be or not to be" refers to a communist dog meditating on his prospects, and similarly "Do Not Resuscitate" depicts a dying communist dog with an American ambulance in the background. These paintings are done in a naive-realistic style. Others, also with a sense of humor, like "Introvert-Extrovert," are abstractly interpreted and do not have a political focus. Similarly, in a stylistically sophisticated manner, but in a serious made, there is "Computerized People." A number of other paintings, "Homeless," "The Mexican," "Halloween," "Guitarist" also attest to the artist's observations of his own human environment and the ability to interpret these observations artistically.

The well-lit and spacious rooms of the Ukrainian Cultural Center provided suitable ambiance for this major exhibition of the artworks of the Ukrainian artist from Chicago.