Maria Primachenko Ukrainian amateur artist Country: Ukraine

Biography of Maria Primachenko

Maria Aksentiyevna Primachenko, a self-taught Ukrainian artist, is widely known for her unique artwork filled with the spirit of her homeland and inspired by the kindness and wisdom of folk poetry. She was born in the village of Bolotne in the Polissya region. From her mother, who was a skilled embroiderer, she inherited the ability to create the magical ornamentation characteristic of Ukrainian craftswomen, where, as Gogol said, "birds look like flowers, and flowers like birds." She began creating her first decorative compositions by transferring traditional wall paintings and embroideries onto cardboard and paper.

In 1935, Primachenko's talented rural artwork caught the attention of the Kyiv artist Tatiana Floru, who was collecting samples for an exhibition of folk art. From that year onwards, Primachenko began working in experimental workshops at the Kyiv State Museum alongside artists such as Tatiana Pata, Paraskeva Vlasyenko, and Natalia Vovk. Gradually, her work gained recognition, and her drawings such as "Black Beast," "Blue Lion," "Beast in Golden Boots," "Dog in a Cap," "Mermaids Dancing," and "Golden Berries" were exhibited in Kyiv, Moscow, Paris, Warsaw, Sofia, and Montreal.

When the war broke out, Maria Primachenko returned to her native village, sharing the hardships of occupation and the joy of Victory with her fellow villagers, which provided her with new inspiration for her art.

The late 1950s and early 1960s proved to be particularly fruitful for the artist. In 1960, during the Decade of Ukrainian Art and Literature in Moscow, her works exhibited at the decorative and applied arts exhibition brought her great success, and she was awarded the Order of Honor. From 1960 to 1965, she worked on a new series called "To the Joy of People," which included works such as "Sunflower," "Blue Vase with Flowers," "Firebird," "Dove on a Viburnum," "Peacock in Flowers," and "Lion." For this series, Maria Primachenko was awarded the title of laureate of the Shevchenko State Prize of the Ukrainian SSR.

In the titles of her works, one can already see the folkloric-poetic foundation of Primachenko's art. However, her drawings are not simply illustrations for folk tales and songs but unique variations on their themes, intertwined with the artist's reflections on life. She said, "I love to draw people working in the field, young people walking as if poppies were blooming. I love everything alive, I love to draw flowers, different birds, and forest animals. I dress them in folk costumes, and they are so cheerful that they start dancing..." Although Primachenko's work bears many similarities to folk art such as figurative ritual baking, embroidery, and wall paintings, her imagery is completely individual and unique. She is an independent artist, setting her apart from many unnamed craftswomen and creators of traditional folk art. This can be attributed to the general process of individualization of folk art, which is characteristic of our time, as well as the "non-traditional" materials used by the artist (paper, gouache, watercolor, round brushes), which give motifs of ancient wall painting a mechanical and modern painterly-poetic meaning.

However, the most significant aspect of Primachenko's art is her unique ability to decoratively generalize the forms of reality, allowing her to extract the essential core of their essence from the complexity and diversity of their specific appearance. This is why the apparent simplicity of her images turns out to be rich and profound in content. For example, the bouquets in Primachenko's drawings are not just still lifes or ornaments but a unique generalized image of flowers, expressing a certain range of emotions, whether it be the joy of childhood or admiration for the generosity of the earth. Her "Forest Bouquet" evokes memories of a sunlit forest, while her "Flowers of My Hut" remind one of the warm smile of a hospitable hostess.

In the late 1960s, Primachenko began creating not only fairy tale but also symbolic and allegorical compositions such as "The Terrible War" and "Drinking One's Own Milk but Opening One's Mouth for Others." These images of sorrow and human vices exist in a grim world devoid of colors and the breath of life, a world without goodness and beauty. The flowers here are no longer lush and vibrant; they are like shadows, ghostly flowers deprived of the breath of life. Color, the most expressive medium in Primachenko's works, carries the essence of the object rather than just being a surface covering (which is why viewers easily accept its conventionality). Color is not flat but plastic and animate; sometimes achieved through the expressiveness of color combinations. For example, in the decorative panel "Cornflowers," the contrast between green and blue creates an impression of nocturnal shimmering and coolness, which is intensified by flashes of red, hot as candle flames, representing the "hearts" of the flowers.

In her narrative works, such as "Cat on the Road," "Marusya Spins Yarn," and "Reaping Cossack Woman and Young Cossack," Primachenko employs an interesting compositional technique that corresponds to the overall decorative structure of her artworks. The drawing is divided into subsequent planes. Despite the apparent flatness of the image, the interaction of these planes creates a spatial effect that allows numerous objects to be placed on the canvas without overwhelming it. This ability to find the right compositional solution is inherent in Primachenko by nature, just like her sense of rhythm, the plasticity of lines and color, and the harmony of the whole.

More recently, Primachenko's works have appeared in a new light through the illustrations of children's books published by the "Veselka" publishing house in Kyiv in the early 1970s. The illustrations of children's books reveal another facet of the folk artist's talent, captivating viewers with their joyful immediacy, closeness to the world of children's imagination, and organic fusion of words and images.