Olga Skorokhod
Olga Skorokhod
Roseburg, OR, United States
About Olga Skorokhod
My childhood dream was to be an artist. It takes a lot of passion to be an artist; art has no end point of perfection and you must constantly evolve and learn. I used to work very hard with an advertising company on commercial projects. Also, I’ve illustrated children’s books, made logo design and painted photorealistic portraits on commission. For many years I was engaged in the search of my own art style. I tried many different techniques, materials and styles. I moved from classic paintings to abstract paper sculptures. If you look at my early works, you might say they all look like they’re made by dozens of different artists. After experimenting with many different types of art, even while working as a graphic artist as my day job, I developed an affinity for representing physical landscapes with abstract and contemporary qualities. Three years ago I took to stock of white printer paper and a razor blade. I cut out pieces of paper and I was amazed by the results I got. It was a beautiful minimal paper sculpture with stunning texture created by light and shadow. Then I began to make experiments with tons of paper and understood that paper now is my canvas for expressing my imagination, feelings, and ideas. I never know what the finished product is going to be. Instead, I let the cutting be dictated by my imagination, feelings, and ideas. The distinguishing feature is the paper edge that’s hand-cut at an angle with surgical blade, as this creates smoother transitions from light to shadow. Sometimes I make abstract colored paper works, but white color gives me much more space to implement my ideas. White gives an organic feeling, conveys airiness, lightness, softness, and purity. After much experimentation, I found I prefer to work with airbrush 150 lb white paper due to its smooth surface. The main tool for creating my art is a surgical blade. Sometimes I use an old school double-sided blade too. I give depth to my work by using double-sided sticky foam between the layers. The distinguishing feature is the paper edge cut at an angle, as this creates smoother transitions from light to shadow. The paper sculpture techniques give the artwork a greater illusion of 3D. To add color and more depth in sculptures I use colored film between paper layers. All my sculptures are created by inspiration of nature’s fascinating beauty. Each new project is a challenge for me and improves my artistic skills.I like natural formation and their textures. Even a small rock, piece of wood or bark, shape of cliffs and caves, National Parks, beautiful landscapes, or sunset can inspire me for my new project. I moved from smaller works to works of a larger scale. The first large artwork I made took over a month. It was 12-15 hours of daily work. Now I need only 2-3 weeks. It requires a lot of time and tons of patience, but the final result is worth it. I'm trying to make the world more beautiful and interesting with the help of art. I want to make people happier and to fill their everyday life with bright colors and interesting things. I strongly believe that art heals. You can see the beauty and perfection even in small things but everybody is too busy for that and totally immersed in their work, daily routine, and problems. I tried to give an impressive glimpse of what the beautiful world looks like through my eyes and imagination. Making art is my full-time job. I also make logos, design books and create photorealistic portraits on commission.
Education:
2004 – 2010 Master Degree with Honors of Fine Arts and Decorative and Applied Arts in the Institute of Publishing and Printing at the National Technical University of Ukraine, Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
Events:
AWARDS
December 31, 2016
Award of Merit, IN, ON, OF PAPER juried exhibition, Ccycle 2, Southeast Ohio's Center for Paper and Book Arts, Nelsonville, OH
November 18, 2016
Silver and Bronze EPICA 2016 AWARDS, Paris, France
September 24, 2016
Gold and Silver 2016 KINSALE SHARK AWARDS , Dublin, Ireland
June 24, 2016
The Main Award - Joan Eliot Sappington Award, Special Exhibit Chasing Paper, 2016 Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, Lakewood Center for the Arts, Lake Oswego, OR
Exhibitions:
GROUP SHOWS 2018
Pushing Paper, Barrett Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY
THE LA ART SHOW, MODERN + CONTEMPORARY, Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA
2017
SMALL WORKS, Catalyst Gallery, Beacon, NY
Representational Abstract, bG Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2017 Annual Member’s Show for UVAA Artist Members, Umpqua Valley Arts Association, Roseburg, OR
Paper Works, Fort Works Art Gallery, Fort Worth, TX (Paper Works will be shown in conjunction with Tropism, a solo exhibition by installation artist Crystal Wagner)
Spectrum Gestalt 4, bG Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
6x6x2017, RoCo (Rochester Contemporary Art Center), Rochester, NY
2017 mon-o-chrome, Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Blue Show, Core New Art Space, Denver, CO
The Seventh Annual ArtWorks Northwest, Umpqua Valley Arts Association, Roseburg, OR
Art On Paper, MFA Circle Gallery, Annapolis, MD
Outside the Box, bG Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Water and Sky, bG Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
A Radical Light, Umpqua Valley Arts Association, Roseburg, OR
2016
Artists draw. Requirements: A4, ballpoint pen, at the Karas Gallery - Kyiv, Ukraine (catalog)
SMALL WORKS, Catalyst Gallery, Beacon, NY
Earth, Wind, and Fire, Umpqua Valley Arts Association, Roseburg, OR
IN, ON, OF PAPER JURIED EXHIBITION, CYCLE 2, Southeast Ohio's Center for Paper and Book Arts, Nelsonville, OH
Hawai‘i National Parks 2016 Centennial, International Gallery Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Kahului, Hawaii
PAPERWORKS 2016, B.J. Spoke Gallery, Huntington, NY
Chasing Paper, 2016 Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, Lakewood Center for the
Arts, Lake Oswego, OR
6x6x2016, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, NY
Small Works Exhibit, the Lemonade Stand Gallery, Key West, Florida
The Big Draw, the Catalyst Gallery, Beacon, NY (the paper artwork is shown on The Big Draw website)
2015
Small Works, the Catalyst Gallery, Beacon, NY
White on White, LHUCA, Lubbock, TX
2015 Small Works, Big Presents, the White River Valley Museum, Auburn, WA
Five by Five. Small art for s big cause, the Arts Council of Hillsborough County, the Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
Oregon Wonders: Crater Lake and Oregon State Parks, Giustina Gallery, Corvallis, OR
The 30th Annual Tallahassee International exhibition, FSU Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee, FL
IF IT FITS, MAIL IT!, Acme Art Studios, Wilmington, NC
6x6x2015, RoCo (Rochester Contemporary Art Center), Rochester, NY
cARTography, Ryan James Fine Arts, Kirkland, WA (curated by Dawn Laurant)
THIRTY UNDER 30, Acme Art Studios, Wilmington, NC (curated by Kristen Crouch)
The Big Draw, Catalyst Gallery, Beacon, NY (the paper artwork is shown on The Big Draw website)
Sincerely Yours, at the SLANT Gallery - Dallas, TX
TURQUOISE, International Mail-Art-Project, Austria (the paper artwork is shown on the Monika Mori's blog post)
2014-15
Artists draw. Requirements: A4, ballpoint pen, at the Karas Gallery - Kyiv, Ukraine (catalog)
2014
Polish, at the ROX Gallery - New York, NY (the paper artwork was included in a press release for the ROX Gallery)
2013
Semi-finalist of SNAC Ukraine 2012 (SNAC - Social Network Art Competition), at the ArtPeople Gallery - San Francisco,CA (catalog)
2012-13
Artists draw. Requirements: A4, ballpoint pen, at the Karas Gallery - Kyiv, Ukraine (catalog)
2012
The exhibition devoted to the international creative camp in Baja, Hungary
Exhibition - E-book - Event „The Interpersonally Happy ” - Island Hano, Sweden (the book was released in the Fall of 2012 )
Territory of the Soul, Plast-Art Gallery, Chernihiv, Ukraine (catalog)
2010-11
Artists draw, Requirements: A4, ballpoint pen, Karas Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine (catalog)