Watercolor as a feast for the soul

Today the Central House of Artists in Kyiv will open a solo exhibition by a renowned Ukrainian graphic and folk artist, founder and head of the art studio at the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, Mykola Hrokh. He is celebrating the 80th birthday and the 60th anniversary of artistic activity.

In the recent decades, the most important in the realm of Hrokh’s creativity has been watercolor, which stands out as a “protagonist” at his display. Watercolor shines in all its glory: in the wealth of motifs, in the interplay of surfaces and stains, in the dynamic of strokes, in the contrasting textures, in saturated and pastel colors. By watercolor, every stroke and every line becomes semantically and sensually complete.

The works of Mykola Hrokh always emotionally attract the audience with a taste for singleness, uniqueness, directness, and sincerity. Everyone shares the utmost respect to the artist for his proficiency in almost every artistic technique.

Before 1990s, Hrokh’s graphics was mostly black-and-white, invariably characterized by extremely polished details, accurate and complete strokes. After that, the artist had started to explore watercolors and pastels. From 1998 to 2000 was a period of very intense personal search, after which the artist emerged a subtle and insightful colorist.

THREE DOLLS. 2012 / Illustrations from the album Mykola Hrokh. Watercolor/Pastel

Landscapes, made in pure watercolor or watercolor combined with oil pastels, are compositionally and plastically complete. The beauty of Sedniv (Chernihiv oblast) is endearing the soul of every Ukrainian: the village is shrouded in the morning mist, through which the sun’s rays make their way; the river Ros is majestically calm, its unhurried flow is wrapped in picturesque beaches; a cozy cane thicket provides a hiding place for an old fishing boat and a bridge; spring forest trees are happy to have awakened after their winter dreaming; proud turkeys, glamorous in their royal plumage, are sinking in the silky thickness of the succulent grass, which greedily absorbs the morning dew; the autumn and winter motifs are wistful and lyrical (The Flowering of Horse Sorrel; Morning Rays; On the River Ros; Swimmers; Early Spring; Spring Flood; Evening Sun; Autumn Landscape with Ducks; Winter. Pokrova Monastery; Obolon in Winter, etc.). Everything is breathing, moving and living, in accordance with the will of the master and the genius of the invisible director – Nature. Hrokh is capable of admiring it and is able to amaze the audience with the poetry of life, making everyday pictures into artistic images.

The works by Mykola Hrokh reflect-everything he sees around: every dear thing that once belonged in the house of his grandmother Yivha, and now live in the studio of the author; flowers in an old metal bowl – an old gift by the beloved writer Ivan Dziuba; old, but touching dolls in Ukrainian folk costumes, from which he creates still lifes. The artist seems to listen closely to the life of these items, to their “mute language,” translating them into images of melting watercolors.

Mykola Hrokh also has still lifes, that amaze with whimsical and unusual colors and shapes (Venetian Glass, Dolls, Grapes, Still Life with Glassware, Spring Blast, Shells, Columbine 2, Blue Iris in a Red Vase) or surprise with wise simplicity and yet complexity of a rare harmony (Savior of the Apple Feast Day and Savior of the Honey Feast Day from the “Spas” triptych, Mushrooms). It is not simply a harmony, it is virtue, nobleness, and the gentle providence that guide the selection of every item, set, lights, and thing the author leaves behind the scenes, as a true master...

Hrokh’s watercolors are easily recognizable, above all by their complex range of light lilac, pink, pearl, and silver shades, softened with pastel, golden, ocher, and red.

Flowers in Hrokh’s still lifes play the leading role. Favorite of his are the amazing shapes of quickly blossoming and equally fleetingly withering irises – flowers of kings; the gladioli, aristocratic, but not long-lasting in their beauty; the modest but seductive columbines.

The audience feel the artist’s attitude to a particular flower as to an extremely thin material that carries a share of the world’s mind and harmony (Still Life with Columbine Flowers, Savior of the Flower Feast Day from the “Spas” triptych, Still Life with Irises and Red Rose, Still Life with Glasses and Marigolds, Still Life with Sunflowers, Zinnia). The world of these works is deeply poetic, and we will happily embrace it to be enriched immeasurably, as the artist reveals the beauty that we might have missed in the haste of everyday worries.

Watercolors on display at the exhibition reveal the “transcript” of the artist’s soul, as he has selflessly devoted himself to the high art, and has been keeping for decades his inherent artistic language, his own peculiar style. The artist finds himself in a wonderfully creative shape, which still allows him to rise to higher levels of mature artistic skills.

The opening of the exhibition will also feature the presentation of the new album Mykola Hrokh. Watercolor/Pastel, released at Yaroslaviv Val publishing house.

Zoia Chehusova is Honored Artist of Ukraine