Наше Життя (Our Life), рік 1995, число 12, грудень

J A C Q U E S H N I Z D O V S K YCOMMEMORATIVE EXHIBITION AT THE UKRAINIAN MUSEUMby MARTA BACHYNSKYCarnation Plant. Woodcut, 1970. Edition of 100. 15 x 18.The retrospective exhibition of the works of Ukrainianartist Jacques Hnizdovsky opened at The UkrainianMuseum in New York City on Sunday, December 10,1995, commemorating the tenth anniversary of his deathand the eightieth anniversary of his birth.The exhibition features oil paintings and graphicworks, which comprise the largest and the most outstandingpart of the'artist’s ouevre. During his artisticcareer Hnizdovsky worked in various media, thus someof his ceramics and weavings w ill also be shown.Through this collection of works the exibition will explorethe artistic journey of a man whose creative endeavorswere unique in their expression and universal in theirappeal.The works on exhibit are from the fine arts collectionof The Ukrainian Museum and from private collections.The majority of the works were lent to the Museumby Stephanie Hnizdovsky, wife of the artist, and by theirdaughter Mira. They also provided invaluable assistancein the organization of the entire project.The exhibition is accompanied by a bilingual, illustrtatedcatalogue containing an analytical essay aboutthe artist’s work by curator of the exhibition Dr. JaroslawLeshko, professor of art history at Smith College,whose field of expertise is 20th century art.Dr. Leshko writes about the artist: "Hnizdovskylooked to the spiritual and physical verities of existencefrom which to draw the meaning for his art, which hetransformed through his distinctive vision into worksthat alternately surprise, impress, delight and provoke.The brilliance of his visual thinking and his extraordinaryeffort in bringing it to fruition is most impressing” .Jacques Hnizdovsky was born in the village ofPylypche, in the Borshchiv region of Ukraine on January27, 1915, an area rich in folk art tradition. Hnizdovskytook great pride in his cultural heritage andwithout doubt the aesthetic taste and splendid ornamentation,seen especially in Borshchiv embroidery,“ helped mold the artistic sensibilities of his talent” ,states Dr. Leshko.Hnizdovsky began his formal training in art in theAcademy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland and completedit in 1942 in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. During the war yearsand in its immedaite aftermath, he lived in a displacedpersons camp where he was very active in the intellectuallife of the Ukrainian community. Hnizdovsky workedas the artistic editor of literary and art magazine Arkapublished in 1947—48 in Munich and edited by ProfessorYurij Shevelov. He lent his talent to various projectsas book illustrator, poster designer and creator of manyexlibris designs. Upon coming to the United States in1949, Hnizdovsky became one of the founders of the"НАШЕ Ж И ТТЯ ”, ГРУДЕНЬ 1995 19