28.03.2008  Yuriy Savchenko

• Zorya Fine Art will host an exhibition of paintings by renowned Ukrainian artist Yuriy Savchenko. The show is a retrospective of the artist’s work from the 1980s to 1990s, opens April 3 at the gallery, 38 E. Putnam Ave. Curated by Alexander Demko, the art will be on view through May 16. Savchenko’s paintings are strong and evocative, yet their subject matter is very simple. His still lifes capture village roads, peasant life, birch trees, autumn and field flowers. They reflect the emotional attachment Savchenko has for ordinary scenes. The artist skillfully creates medium to large size oil paintings that are executed in heavy impasto. These works engage the viewer with laconic compositions and masterfully mixed colors that are contrasted with warm and cold tones. Trained in an academic tradition, Savchenko graduated from the Kharkiv Academy of Art in 1957. He developed his own expressive yet impressionistic style in the early 1980s. American art lovers had the first opportunity to view his paintings in 1991, when he was invited to exhibit at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art, Alabama and at a private gallery in Nashville, Tenn. The last exhibition of works by Savchenko - “Fifth Avenue and Central Park” - was organized by the Ukrainian Institute of America, New York in 2004. Now in his 70s, Savchenko continues his career, working in his studio in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Last year Savchenko held solo exhibitions in Kiev, Moscow and St. Petersburg. For more information, log onto the web site www.zoryafineart.com or call the gallery 869-9898. This article was published in The Arts section of Greenwich Time, Wednesday, March 26, 2008 – page A11.