Spiritual images
There are painters who are able to impress not only with their extraordinary palette, but also to influence our consciousness with weighty information. Such, God-marked nuggets, are able to raise important topics that shape the artistic tastes and spiritual development of society as a whole. The works of these artists become part of the cultural heritage of the entire Ukrainian people. It is these artists who are Olga Karpenko, a graduate of the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture. She is currently a senior lecturer at the National Academy of Cultural and Arts Leadership, which she has to convey to her pupils.
Confirmation of this opinion is the exhibition "Spiritual images", which took place recently in the exhibition hall of the Bell tower of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The artist presented more than 20 paintings on Christian themes, the history of our people, portraits, landscapes, plot works.
O.Karpenko made many trips to Ukraine, Greece, Italy, France, Spain, where he felt the holiness of the architectural sacred monuments of different peoples, visited the leading galleries and museums, to realize creative ideas and comprehend the Christian history. But the main grounds for the mistress were Ukrainian temple cells in which she visited. It was there that the artist felt the echo of history in which the spirituality of the Ukrainian nation was formed. As the artist himself notes, at first it was necessary to go through the path of self-improvement, to live the suffering of Christ, to feel the power and value of Christian teaching, and then to engage in global themes. Thus, several series of paintings were filled with internal harmony, powerful energy, where moral values strike.
Surprisingly, I noticed a noble inner state of a mistress from the previous projects related to Sumy region, in which Olga Valeryanivna took part. For example, the plein air "History and Modernity" is full of a heroic Cossack theme, gave the masters a certain experience and influenced their own understanding of Ukrainian history.
"I always strike light, this vivid ray, the flow of solar energy that feeds the earth. Always on the open air there is enchantment from the landscape seen, there are extraordinary artistic images. It is important to live the beauty that has been seen, to feel the suffering and the call of the soul, and then with no equal creative force leads to the creation of a picture ", - noted O. Karpenko. Thus, motives from Christian history were born, in which the main place was given to the Savior.
Thanks to the landscapes presented at the exhibition, we travel to the shores of the Black Sea where we watch "Boats in Balaklava", visit the romantic "Cape", see "New World". Karpenko frankly invites us to his world full of love and openness with the warm waves of the Mediterranean, a unique Iberian coast. The plots of her paintings are frank, true, deeply meaningful, in them we are looking for answers to the original questions why we came to this world.
You can see those or other buildings not once, but enlightenment arises as a gift of destiny. It is then that a bright artistic image is born, like a lonely priest on the canvas "Twilight" or a romantic motif "Laura in the Winter", engaging in "Prayer" and "Calvary" full of drama. A confident figure, the beauty of compositional construction speak about the culture of academic education, which was received by the artist in the workshop of the folk artist of Ukraine O.Lopukhov. O.Karpenko's professional knowledge was consolidated in postgraduate study, which gave him the opportunity to confidently get up on a pedagogical field. She is currently teaching at the Department of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture at the National Academy of Cultural and Arts Leaders.
Olga Karpenko tends to create thematic paintings in which the story speaks. Such are a series of paintings devoted to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, works devoted to the Cossacks, completed images of biblical stories. We see in front of ourselves an established artist with his own style of painting, a master of the transfer of the power of dramatic events in history.
The series of portraits reveals the identity of the artist in transferring the internal state of the chosen people, such are the paintings "Composer Laureate of the National Taras Shevchenko Prize Victor Stepurko", "Portrait of his father", "Monk", "Ukrainka". Transparent palette, pure color gamma, well-chosen angles outlined by a confident line give works of special eloquence. The inner strength of the created images gives them a certain symbolism filled with deep meaning. Through the presented works filled with light and purity of thoughts radiated positive mood, peace and tranquility.
The exhibition was supported by the support of the organizer of the vernissage - the head of the department of museum work of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve Oleg Topilko. The speech at the opening of the exhibition was made by the director of the Institute of design and advertising NAKKKiM B.Andrasyuk and the head of the department of drawing, painting and sculpture, a folk artist A.Kusch. The decoration of the exhibition was the musical performances of brilliant musicians, teachers of NAKKKiM - V. Stepurko, N.Ovisnnikov, O.Turin, V.Kamenskaya and the quartet of the National Opera of Ukraine.
In general, the exhibition not only shows the beauty of painting, but also the power of art to bring up artistic tastes, influence our spirituality. Somewhere around the horizons, the sailboat is seen as the messenger of hope, faith and inspiration. This is our hope for a better life on the god of this land. We wish Olga Karpenko further creative achievements to the glory of Ukrainian art.
Valentina Yefremova art critic, honored worker of culture of Ukraine. Photo by O.Karpenko
06.05.2018