Gennady Parfeniouk's sculptures: bridging two different worlds (03/18/01)

Gennady Parfeniouk's sculptures: bridging two different worlds

by Ika Koznarska Casanova

CLAVERACK, N.Y. - If the work of every artist is a reflection and a response to the particular circumstances of time and place, then the work of Gennady Parfeniouk, a recent émigré sculptor from Ukraine, spans and bridges two different worlds.

Originally from Kyiv, where he completed his studies at Kyiv University and the Kyiv State Art Institute (known today as the National Academy of Art), Mr. Parfeniouk has been residing in the United States since 1992, and since 1996 in the village of Claverack in the Hudson Valley, where he is affiliated with the Institute of the Philosophy and Psychology of Art.

Mr. Parfeniouk's work was recently shown as part of a group exhibit titled "Spheres: An Examination of the Sphere in Art and Life," held (September 4 - December 15, 2000) at the Museum of the Imagination in Hudson, N.Y. The exhibition, featuring a sculptural installation consisting of artwork by contemporary artists, focused on the representation and role of the sphere in art as manifested through time and various cultures, as well as in nature and science.

Mr. Parfeniouk's early work, dating to his student days in the early 1980s, deals predominantly with monumental sculptures as well as sculptural portraiture.

Significantly, the sculpture "Yaroslav Mudryi, Budivnyk Derzhavnosty" (Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise, Founder of the Nation), executed as Mr. Parfeniouk's diploma work in 1983 at the Kyiv Institute of Art, was not only awarded a gold medal but received the distinction of being acquired by the Museum of the History of Kyiv, where it is permanently installed.

Representative of this early phase are such works as "Osvita" (Education), a composition that takes the form of a draped, sensuous lithe figure of a young woman, with village children at her side, commissioned by the Ukrainian Museum of Pedagogy in Kyiv; "Borotba" (Hockey Melee), which captures the dynamics and sense of extreme tension in the interaction of players as they give their all to win.

The memorial sculpture "Maty Ukraina," commemorating those who perished in World War II, takes the form of a standing figure of a young woman, who, with head slightly bowed and downcast eyes, holds up an icon as she mourns her fallen sons and daughters. The evocation of grace in strength as represented in the female figure is reinforced by the laconic and calm expression of stoic grief. The sculpture, which is in Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, was the last important work by the artist before he left Ukraine.

Mr. Parfeniouk also has a series of sculptural portraits of prominent individuals from the Soviet era who have made significant contributions in various fields, including the arts, academia, literature and sports.

A clear transition to a modernist aesthetic, characterized by a general simplification and abstraction of form, is found in works dating from 1989 onward. This direction is represented by the diptych "Annunciation" and "Pietà," where the theme of the birth and death of Christ is articulated, using contre-relief, as a carrying of a child within the womb (the incarnation of Christ) and ultimately, the loss of the child (the death of Christ), with the outstretched hands of the grieving figure, a prefiguration of the crucifixion of Christ.

Mr. Parfeniouk has also been drawn throughout his career to such timeless themes as the relationship between man and woman, and the female figure. A series of bronze sculptures, rendered in what the artist refers to as a modern impressionist mode, are dedicated to this theme, among them, such works as "Adam and Eve," "Nostalgia" and "Unfinished Painting."

Since his emigration to the United States, Mr. Parfeniouk's work has been marked by a tendency toward symbolic abstraction. His foray into abstract philosophical expression is represented by his current project dealing with conceptual space and the study of the sphere.

Irrespective of any particular style or subject matter, Mr. Parfeniouk conceives of the role of the artist as that of intimating depths of meaning beyond what meets the eye, and of opening up new dimensions of reality and, in the process, engaging the viewer in reflection and critical thinking.

Often drawing inspiration from the inner workings of his psyche, he conceives of art as a manifestation of an inner search and of creation as something above and beyond the self.

Apart from the group exhibit at the Museum of the Imagination, Mr. Parfeniouk's work was shown in New York at the Mimi Ferzt Gallery and the Alex and Edmund Galleries, both in Soho; the Kristal Gallery, Sugar Bush, Vt.; as well as in an exhibit sponsored by Marvel International Inc., of Princeton, N.J., and at the Fusion Art Distribution Gallery in Pittsburgh and New Orleans.

In 1991 he took part in a benefit auction of fine arts from the USSR held in Los Altos Hills, Calif. Prior to emigrating to the United States, Mr. Parfeniouk took part in numerous international exhibits in Scandinavia.

His latest work may be seen on the website: www.museumimagination.bizland.com.

The Museum of the Imagination, where the artist's latest exhibit was held, is located in Hudson, N.Y., a town that has gained regional recognition as a growing antique and arts center in New York state's Hudson Valley region. The museum is located at 217 Warren St., second floor, Hudson, N.Y.; telephone, (518) 671-6711.

The museum is affiliated with the Institute of the Philosophy and Psychology of Art, founded in 1981 by the renowned Russian artist Mihail Chemiakin, whose studio attracts both recent émigrés from the former USSR and American artists.

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