Exhibit honors artist/scholar Krychevsky (11/21/99)

Exhibit honors artist/scholar Krychevsky

by Marta Baczynsky

NEW YORK - Vasyl Krychevsky, one of Ukraine's outstanding public figures of the 20th century - architect, artist, scholar and educator - will be honored with an exhibition of his paintings and drawings at The Ukrainian Museum. The exhibit will open on December 5 and will be on view through March 12, 2000. The opening reception is scheduled for 2 p.m.

The exhibition, "The Creative Legacy of Vasyl Hryhorovych Krychevsky," will consist of 120 larger and smaller size paintings and drawings, as well as various publications about the artist. The art works on exhibit are from the Krychevsky collection, bequeathed to the museum's Fine Arts Collection by Vadym Pavlovsky.

On the threshold of the new millennium, the museum has deemed it fitting to greet this auspicious passage of time with the celebration of the remarkable accomplishments of a man whose multifaceted talents impacted greatly on Ukrainian cultural development in the first half of the 20th century.

Versatile and dynamic in his creativity, Krychevsky brought innovation to the art of book design, and pioneered a distinct Ukrainian style of architectural expression. He was an artist/painter, and worked in applied arts and interior decorating; he designed theater productions and was an art director for the Ukrainian film industry. Krychevsky was also an educator for over a quarter of a century, and a member of numerous prestigious scholarly and educational institutions.

Mr. Pavlovsky, Krychevsky's biographer, addressed this phenomenal energy and productivity: "How is it possible that one individual could be so prolific in such a wide range of artistic expressions and bring to each one so many innovations, while at the same time, engaged in research and educational work? The answer was simple. Krychevsky was an exceptionally talented individual. He had great abilities and unlimited capabilities, coupled with an unusual gift - he worked swiftly. From the very beginning he followed his own path."

Krychevsky was born in the village of Vorozhba, in the Kharkiv region, on January 13, 1873, the oldest of eight children. He received little formal education, but expanded and enriched his knowledge, working for a draftsman and as the technical assistant to professor and architect Serhii Zagoskin at Kharkiv Technological Institute, while auditing classes in art history and folk art at the Kharkiv University. In 1982 he began his independent career as an architect.

Krychevsky's greatest architectural achievement was the Poltava Zemstvo Building. His design for the building won first prize in an architectural competition in 1903. The design inaugurated a new style by incorporating traditions of Ukrainian folk architecture into modern stone structures, and thus set a trend among young architects in Ukraine. Krychevsky produced several other well-known designs in the novel and now popular "Ukrainian national" style, the foremost among these being the memorial museum in Kaniv, at the tomb of Ukraine's bard, Taras Shevchenko.

Krychevsky is regarded by Ukrainian art critics as the founder of modern Ukrainian book design. He broke with the tradition of "pictorial" book covers, which were the vogue of the early 20th century. In the more than 80 covers and many of entire books (Ukrainska Pisnia, 1935) which he designed, Krychevsky produced a new look in the art of Ukrainian book design.

Although influenced by French impressionists, Krychevsky's artistic legacy, which consists of many large and small watercolor and oil paintings, display a very individual path, which the artist followed. Particularly notable are his paintings of Ukrainian landscapes, including scenes of Crimea. Krychevsky's outstanding technique in capturing the purity of light, his lyrical use of color and the synthesis of regional characteristics create harmonious and peaceful intimacy in each work. Krychevsky's paintings are in numerous museums in Ukraine, as well as in many private collections all over the world.

Krychevsky worked with theater and in the Ukrainian film industry. He was the art director for the Sadovsky Theater, for which he staged plays and operas, and designed the stage scenery and costumes. He was an art consultant and art director for many important film productions, such as "Zvenyhora" (1928) directed by Oleksander Dovzhenko, "Taras Shevchenko" (1926) and "Taras Tryasylo" (1927), among others.

In 1917 Krychevsky was one of the organizers of the Ukrainian State Academy of Arts and its first president, as well as a professor on its staff. In the 1920s he taught at the Kyiv Institute of Plastic Art and the Kyiv Architectural Institute, where he taught painting and ornamental composition. He lectured in other educational and art institutions as well, always projecting the national image of Ukrainian art and architecture. On November 16, 1945, in Augsburg, Germany, the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences (UVAN) was organized, and the new Ukrainian academy-in-exile unanimously elected Krychevsky as an honorary member.

Vasyl Krychevsky died on November 15, 1952, in Caracas, Venezuela, where he lived with his second wife at the home of his daughter Halyna K. Linde.

The exhibition "The Legacy of Vasyl Hryhorovych Krychevsky" continues The Ukrainian Museum's intent to celebrate the role collectors play in the formation of important collections. The museum acknowledges the contribution of Mr. Pavlovsky to the memory of Vasyl Krychevsky, not only through his donation to the fine arts collection of over 300 remarkable works by Krychevsky, but also through his monograph about the artist and scholar.

When Mr. Pavlovsky was a child, his mother married Mr. Krychevsky. Thus, having been raised by this unusually gifted man, Mr. Pavlovsky as a biographer, was able to give a more intimate picture of Krychevsky's achievements, his struggles and triumphs, which the museum has published in part in the exhibition catalogue.

For further information, please contact The Ukrainian Museum, 203 Second Ave., New York, NY 10003; telephone, (212) 228-0110; e-mail, [email protected]; website, http://www.brama.com/ukrainian_museum. Hours are Monday-Sunday, 1-5 p.m.

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