Mykola Kryvenko

Born in 1950 in Kyiv, Ukraine, Mykola Kryvenko is a distinguished painter, sculptor, and graphic artist whose work has significantly influenced the Ukrainian art scene. He graduated from the Republican Art School in 1969 and later from the Graphic Department of the Kyiv State Art Institute in 1978.

In 1975, Kryvenko participated in Kyiv's first exhibition of nonconformist artists, marking his early involvement in avant-garde movements. He is a member of the Union of Artists of Ukraine and the art group "Picturesque Sanctuary."

Kryvenko's artistic journey has been deeply influenced by Eastern philosophy, particularly the teachings of Lao Tzu and Confucius. He has expressed a profound connection to Chinese and Asian painting and poetry, often revisiting these philosophies and artworks to inform his creative process.

Throughout his career, Kryvenko has exhibited extensively both in Ukraine and internationally. Notable exhibitions include "Pink Toucan at Dawn" at the Shcherbenko Art Centre in Kyiv (2020), "Some Miracles" at the same venue (2018), and "Kryvenko’s Line" at the White Space in Kyiv (2015).

His works are characterized by a minimalist palette, often utilizing pastel and monochrome tones to convey conceptual and intro...

Mykola Kryvenko graduated from the Republican Taras Shevchenko Art School (1969) and Drawing Department of the Kyiv State Art Institute (1978). Mr. Kryvenko works on painting, drawing, sculpture, collage, writes texts. Mykola Kryvenko has been teaching drawing and painting at the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture since mid-2000s. Kryvenko’s works are in numerous private and public collections, including the one of the National Art Museum of Ukraine. He works and lives in Kyiv.

While obtaining official education, Kryvenko attended the classes in a studio of Grygoriy Gavrylenko, famous Ukrainian painter of the Sixtiers who had been sacked from his position of a lecturer at the Kyiv State Art Institute in the 1960s due to ideological considerations. It was Serhiy Paradzhanov who was closely familiar with unofficial Kyiv art circles and who recommended that the young artist cooperate with Gavrylenko. During the period of close cooperation with Gavrylenko in the late 1970s-early1980s, his influence can clearly be seen in Kryvenko’s works. However, the artist moved to pure abstraction in the mid-1980s, which has become his principal artistic method ever since. This transformation was unintentionally (however, ...

2018
"Some Miracles", Shcherbenko Art Centre, Kyiv, Ukraine
"Phantom beauty", Kyiv Art Fair 2018, Kyiv, Ukraine

2015
"Kryvenko’s Line", the White Space, Kyiv, Ukraine

2008
"Roadway", Bottega Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine
"A picturesque sanctuary. Version 2008 ", Bottega Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine

2007
"A-4″, Atelier Karas, Kyiv, Ukraine

2006
"Nu", Warsaw, Poland
"Gogolfest", Mystetskyi Arsenal, Kyiv, Ukraine

2005
"One Hundred Years of NAMU", NAMU, Kyiv, Ukraine

2004
"Farewell to Arms", Mystetskyi Arsenal, Kyiv, Ukraine

2002
"Personal exhibition of Mykola Kryvenko", gallery "Atelier Karas", Kyiv, Ukraine

1999
Gallery "L’Art". Kyiv, Ukraine

2000
"Intervals", Ukrainian National Art Museum, Kyiv, Ukraine
Heine Onstad Kunstsenter, Oslo, Norway – Art festival, Ukrainian House, Kyiv, Ukraine

1999
"New Directions", Central House of Artists, Kyiv, Ukraine
Days of Ukrainian culture in Paris – Passage de Retz. Paris, France

1998
"Gesture and plastic", "Atelier Caras". V. Bazhay, V. Budnikov, M. Kryvenko
"Two days – two nights of music". International Art Festival. Odessa, Ukraine

1997
"Per Gynt", Trondheim, Norway

1996
Art Festival, Ukrainian House, Kyiv, Ukraine

1995
"Picturesque sanctuary-...