"Prayer for Ukraine" Painting

I am a Ukrainian contemporary artist, born in 2000 and based in Kraków, Poland. I am the creator of Emochromism, an artistic system in which colour functions as both an emotional and structural element of painting. At its core is the belief that colour shapes not only how we see the world, but how we experience it.

I grew up in Mariupol, Ukraine, the hometown of Arkhip Kuindzhi. The Sea of Azov, intense orange sunsets and remarkably golden autumns shaped my early perception of colour and landscape, while Kuindzhi’s particular attention to light became an important early influence. I began working with oil paint at thirteen and started exhibiting the following year.

I studied painting at the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in Kyiv, where I developed a strong academic foundation. During my second year, I studied in the Landscape Painting Studio associated with the legacy of Vasyl Zabashta, where Ihor Melnychuk, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Restoration, became an important mentor. His approach to plein-air painting and colour had a lasting influence on my artistic development.

My artistic language was further shaped by Ukrainian painting traditions, particularly the expressive use of colour in the Transcarpathian and Kyiv schools. I continued my training in Monumental Painting under Ivan Pylypenko and Oleksandr Solovey, before completing my Master's studies in the studio of Professor Oleksandr Tsugorko, Rector of the Academy.

My practice is not defined by a single subject. I work with landscapes, architecture, nature, animals and the human figure. Each painting develops from its own idea and narrative, while colour provides a connecting language across my work. In Emochromism, colour does not simply describe space but generates it through composition, contrast, rhythm and tonal relationships, transforming the visible world while preserving its structure and identity.

Since moving to Poland, cultural dialogue has become an increasingly important part of my practice. My Ukrainian artistic heritage continues to form its foundation, while encounters with Polish painting, architecture and cultural heritage have expanded my visual language. I am particularly interested in how art can create connections between places, histories and cultures.

At the centre of my work are beauty, freedom, wonder, belonging and joy. I do not see attention to beauty as an escape from reality, but as a conscious way of engaging with it.