Memories of Santorini
24.09.2019
21-30.09.2019
Art Gallery “Mytets”
12 Velyka Vasylkivska Str.
Free entrance
The “Memories of Santorini” Exhibition is an echo of the 10-year
Santorini period of life of Ukrainian artist Sergiy Oleksyuk. 12 paintings have captured
the unique landscape of the Greek island of Santorini, the city of white walls
and coloured roofs dazzling in the sun,
and the indispensable elements of these landscapes—endless sky and sea.
From 2000 to 2004, Sergiy Oleksyuk was a “freelance artist” on the tourist streets of Santorini—in the 40-degree heat he painted oil and watercolour landscapes, portraits and sometimes interiors, which could be easily singled out among numberless kitsch made-in-China paintings and over-retouched postcards by numerous tourists. Then Sergiy worked at the local gallery visited by those searching for unique works of art, that is, more sophisticated and meditative than the ones offered by the street shops.
"Why is Santorini so attractive? There is no anxiety; a man enjoys peace of mind there. You are alone in nature, but you are not scared of
it, you feel comfortable and light-hearted. In Santorini, everyone gets the
widest viewing angle as far as the eye can reach—many, many kilometres of the sea and a very distant
horizon. There is delightful and heartfelt pleasure; harmony is everywhere. In April-May and from late September until
mid-October Santorini is fantastically beautiful, and at this time
photographers from all over the world are trying to get there”, that is how the painter
describes his feelings about the island.
In his landscapes, which the artist drew in the evenings in the workshop,
choosing on the computer monitor non-trivial angles of urban architecture among
the thousands of photographs taken by him, he used specially dimmed, “muffled” colours,
reduced contrast and no people at all. “I'm interested in shape, light and
shadows”, the artist explains. If there were no tourist attractions and the "sun" painting, one could suspect Sergiy
Oleksyuk of his love for the metaphysical
landscape. Instead, we can contemplate oil and acrylic paintings of living rooms filling the interior with the romance of
a white-blue island.
"In Santorini, summer lasts 8 months, which means the sun is shining
brightly and there is less shades of colour. In summer, the horizon line
between the sky and the sea is like a haze, and in autumn it is as sharp as a
laser. At this very period the island of Crete can be contemplated from
Santorini. I have never seen wet clouds low above my head anywhere else; they
seem floating between people. What a sunset is there! Especially when the wind
blows and sweeps the red damp sand, you find yourself in photoshop, and the
world around gets covered with red or orange haze. People come to the city to
meet the sunset, there is a wide viewing angle of the horizon, and when the sun
goes down to the sea, several hundred people simultaneously applaud. Japanese
like to get married in Santorini, especially for getting beautiful photo
shoots. There is a wonderful atmosphere of fun, festivities, lightheartedness
and good-naturedness. Everyone is tanned and smiling”, says Sergiy Oleksyuk.
Sergiy Oleksyuk
Born in 1961 in Kolomyia. He studied at Vyzhnytsya School of Applied Arts,
majoring in “Artistic woodworking”. In 1993 he graduated from Kyiv Art
Institute (now—the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture of
Ukraine), Theatrical and Decorative Department of the Faculty of Painting.
During his studies he participated in national and all-Union exhibitions, and
later his works were exhibited at the international exhibitions.
Immediately after graduation from the National Academy of Fine Arts and
Architecture, the Artist's first personal exhibition took place at the
University Library of State College (USA).
Sergiy Oleksyuk paints using oil, acrylic and watercolour techniques; draws his works with pencil, coal, sangina and other
materials. He has extensive experience in painting portraits from life, photography, genre paintings and landscapes. He
experimented with abstract painting and installations. Sergiy is fond of photography, participated in international
photo exhibitions.
2013—“Space Against Plane” exhibition at the Tsekh Art Gallery (Kyiv)
2015—participation in a charity auction organized by the Auction House “Korners” (Kyiv).
2016—group exhibition “Jump to Europe” in the Tsekh Art
Gallery (Vilnius, Lithuania).
Sergiy Oleksyuk's works are kept in private collections in Ukraine,
Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia.
21-30.09.2019
Art Gallery “Mytets”
12 Velyka Vasylkivska Str.
