ART CRITICISM FROM LIUDMYLA TVERSKA, ART EXPERT

ART CRITICISM FROM LIUDMYLA TVERSKA, ART EXPERT ABOUT «PERCEPTION» EXHIBITION OF ARTIST ANATOLIY MENKIV

ABOUT INTERESTING PAINTER AND PERSON

Anatoliy Menkiv – first acquaintance with this person sometimes gives a wrong impression of some formally shown simplicity. He is far too much cheerful, communicative, sometimes even too fuss. But if you get to know him better, you will understand depth of his personality, scope of his knowledge, complex seriousness of his arguments on present-day world. Actually you are under impression of his capacity to work and ability to divide his time in such manner as to be able to do everything – for example, to organize the more interesting projects that can be listed on several pages.

The greatest are the «Art-Desant», annual international festival «COW», Ukrainian competition of social poster, Ukrainian competition devoted to poster art. His own initiative was often awarded with medals, certificates of honors, diplomas, the most valuable of which for Anatoliy Menkiv are: commemorative medal of «Defender of the Fatherland»; medal of «Merit for city», Honorary Medal «LEGE ARTIS», diploma and gold medal named after Oleksandr Rodchenko (Moscow, Russia), certificate of honors from Dniropetrovsk association of Afghanistan veterans, diplomas of participant of international exhibitions in Paris (France), Seoul (Korea) and more.

At the same time the painter is an active participant of exhibition activities of Dnipropetrovsk unit of National commonwealth of artists of Ukraine, Ukrainian exhibitions of pictorial arts; he exhibits own pictures at the international exhibitions often. If only we would count at least approximately the number of vernissages where his works created within the last fifteen years were exhibited we will get an impressive number equal to over than forty. It is no coincidence that Menkiv was admitted to the Union of designers of Ukraine (2003) rather early; as early as next year he becomes the member of its board. He is the very person who was the initiator of establishment of Dnipropetrovsk branch of the Union of designers of Ukraine managed by him till present. However, despite of engagement in public, exhibition and organizational activity, he works successfully not only in own professional sphere of design and poster.

As recently as the nineties painter succeeded in rather sophisticated graphical method of calligraphic etching that requires from author not only expression of artistic and imaginative plastic but also technical excellence. For this purpose study at the Ukrainian academy of printing named after Ivan Fedorov became very useful for Anatoliy Menkiv at some time. Some features typical for painter’s personality – inclination to creative thinking, analytical perception of events, even pragmatism in some degree – are strongly demonstrated in graphical sheets «Life», «Destiny», «Temptation». This is proved by motif developments of bible retellings, their individual interpretation. The artist is able to show tonal riches of calligraphic etching that makes the picture not rationally unemotional and rough, but adds some picturesqueness to it.

It is only natural that during the past decades the painter is rather interested in the easel painting that unlocks talents of Menkiv as a creator in the other way. Landscape becomes the favorite genre of 2010 yrs due to the fact that their compositional and coloristic structure makes it possible to tell about interesting plastic discoveries in solution of poetical image of Ukrainian nature with its peculiar almost water-color transparency and atmospherity («Summer», «Evening». From the series «Impressions», 2013). It seems, as if colored sfumato throws rich tonal veil over the airy space of his landscapes. In such a manner, the artist follows the principles of impressionists, with their love for expression of impressions from light-air environment. However, Anatolii Menkiv enriches his own plastic development with special tonality, that is extremely peculiar to the lyrical landscape of an Ukrainian artist.

Generally through the examples of works of painter we can estimate his comprehensive expertise in history of contemporary art, his ability to use their graphic discoveries in work on own masterpieces. This peculiarity of his creative practice does not belittle his author’s prerogative of creator absolutely. Quite to the contrary, it enriches created image with new impressions. His landscape-picture «The sea. 2014» is perceived exactly this way; we can see there the influence of legacy of British marine painter Joseph Turner whose distinctive features were fantastic light effects, expressionist quality and dramatic nature. Nonetheless, work of painter from Dnipro city, who pictures «The Black sea» well-known to him, which south warm is felt by him personally, gives own, more real perspective of sea nature in spite of snappish vibration of waves. However, it is not just the landscape as might appear at first sight. The artist fills his work with personal feelings related to current political events in the country. This picture is an excellent illustrative of coloristic talent of the author. Multi-layer pastose painting of marine gives a chance to describe both beauty and power of marine space.

It can be said that plastics of landscapes created according to memories from travels in Oriental countries («Tunisia», 2016; «Cyprus», 2017; «Quiet street», 2017) is more conditional. In these rather «mysterious paintings» the ordinary lanes, flat roofs and walls of windowless and doorless buildings that are typical for oriental cities, are located in empty spaces with exceptional perspective angles. It seems, as if scene of special environmental theater appears inside of these pictures where staging of mystery events possible in everyday life takes place. At the moment the viewers scrutinize this picture they fall into special state of either dream or the reality exceptionally due to formula based on linear breaks of architecture and coloristic representation with almost local contrasts of paints.

However, paintings from the series «Faces», created within the last four years (2014-2017), stood out in particular, due to their expressionist quality. According to the painter, this is just the beginning of work on the great series of art pieces. In this series, he – as a mature painter masters own imaginative, plastic structure and philosophy of nova day’s vision of life as a whole. Artistic and civilian maturity of master was proved out at the moment of involvement into events related to military conflict in the East of Ukraine, acquaintance with injured fighters of anti-terrorist operation. The result is launching of project of voluntary assistance to aggrieved soldiers that involved weekly classes in art therapy in Dnipro military hospital and in the Hospital named after Mechnikov. Experience of people who went through the inferno of war, who were maimed both physically and mentally inspired Anatoliy Menkiv to creation of special chronicle of human tragedy («Awakening», 2014; «Two», 2016 from the series «Faces»). Expressionist quality of images created by artist is impressive. It would be hard to take eyes off faces that seem to be emerging from non-existence and catch the attention by expression of plastic development of artistic lexis. The most notable above all others is the composition that almost forces the viewer to come close to borders of painting and to scrutinize their face features. And the cold tones of color spots, their blur evoke sensation of some remoteness of person from life in this world.

Having intention to carry out further work on series «Faces» the painter already has certain motifs for future pictures; he thinks over imaginative, plastic lexis of their compositions.

Let’s wish him every success!