Ukrainian Mysterious Folk Art: Maria Prymachenko’s creations go on display in Kyiv
Prymachenko’s work is saturated with pagan and Christian symbolism
Her work is often described as mysterious and dangerous.
Maria Prymachenko is considered to be a folk master of Ukrainian ethnic painting. An exhibition dedicated to Prymachenko’s art opened in Kyiv on Tuesday, February 9.
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Prymachenko was born into a peasant family but her art would dictate a new era. Her grandson who was in attendace at the opening of the exhibition says Prymachenko’s artwork represents how she saw the world.
Ivan Prymachenko, artist’s grandson: “With her paintings she escaped this world. She tried to create a different world.”
Prymachenko’s work is saturated with pagan and Christian symbols. Flowers represent the sun, birds mean messengers of peace, and horses according to pagan traditions protect their owners from evil.
A few local artists organized a video montage of some of her most-known creations as part of the exhibit.
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Oleksandr Dirdovskiy, author of art installation: “We were making it for two weeks. Every day for seven or eight hours. And all of these things were in our heads, lots of sharp teeth, or some animal is eating a bird.”
Prymachenko died at the age of 89, she lived through some of the most difficult and tragic chapters of Ukraine’s history. Including Stalin’s forced famine which left several million people dead.
Many believe this is why most of her work is dominated by the topic of good versus evil.
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