Ukrainian Artists #1: Ivan Marchuk

3rd March 2022

Marchuk was born on May 12th 1936 in Moskalivka, Ukraine. The Daily Telegraph (UK) listed him as one of the 100 geniuses of today.

Marchuk graduated from Lviv Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts in 1965, and his work was exhibited in Moscow, Kiev and other Soviet cities but it wasn’t until 1990 that he was officially recognised by the Soviet artistic establishment. His work has now been displayed in New York, Toronto, Detroit, Philadelphia, Massachusetts and Sydney, Australia. The Boston Herald wrote that Marchuk’s paintings “Expressed the desire for independence, the pain and anger, the pride and hope of [his] people.”

Source: Hogan, E (editor), ‘From Three Worlds’, New Ukrainian Writing, 1996, GLAS Publishing

For me, art – is life and revelation. There is no alternative. Simultaniously, art – is a hard labor. I work 365 days a year, and without it I can not exist. This is destiny, karma, judgment, doom.

     Ivan Marchuk