Labyrinth of the Minotaur Print

Igor Grechanyk was born in Kiev, Ukraine. Raised in an artistic family and taking great interest in art and drawing from his early years, he went to the Republican Art School and graduated from it in 1978. In 1984 he graduated from the State Art Institute in Kiev, Sculpture Faculty. From his childhood Igor had an inner inclination to mystical stories, the mysterious, to the world of the unknown and the unperceived. His aspiration to understand the origins of human civilization, its values, the deeper levels of consciousness, interrelations between the astral - and the material world inspired him to undertake a study of esoteric doctrines and ancient mythology and motivated him to start his journey into the world of the collective unconscious, the storehouse of images and symbols of the whole of humanity and all times. The artist transcends the boundaries of ordinary existence and causes a dialogue with another more ancient world, which looks on us intently. This ancient world directs our search. It gives birth to three-dimensional material images, filled with strong inner energy and realizing themselves a part of a mysterious and magical universe. Images of Ukrainian Lada, Sumerian Inanna, Egyptian Hathor, Greek Aphrodite were born in the artists atelier as a modern interpretation of the fundamental myth about the Great Goddess, the later Goddess of Love. Another series of works brings us to the mystery and myth about Eve and the forbidden fruit. These images have dynamism and elegance, balance between movement and still of bronze. The artist uses meaningful symbolic details, expressive silhouettes, contrasting textures, and intricate lines subordinating them to the disclosure of the supernatural and magical essence of his images. Fantastic animals radiate the power of nature, they are dynamic, full of energy and grace. But artist is making visible the inner mystical part of these creatures, dependent on the artists will, quiet in their strength. The ability of deliberate control of his perception in combination with a high level of artistic technique characterizes the multifaceted images of Igor Grechanyk.