Nevertheless, in a cosy courtyard in the centre of Uzhhorod almost every day pupils, friends and colleagues come to the master. Here he paints pictures in a small light studio, collects orchids, grows melons and tomatoes, firs and roses ...

The artist's studio is located in the attic room and in order to get into it, you must climb spiral stairs, hidden between the bamboo shoots. In a small room it is close to the small bed, table, chairs and shelves, which are filled with paintings, sketches, etudes. At first glance, it is obvious that the master, when inspiration comes, does not think for a long time - he grabs the first board or glass he has got in his hands, squeezes paint on them and creates sky, mountains, autumn or thoughtful woman. “I've never really thought about what to create, what materials ... Everything depends on the mood and the situation,” the author says.

However, Ivan Masniuk is known primarily as a sculptor - by his first personal exhibition held in Uzhhorod in the late 80s, he loudly declared himself. Then the author presented a kind of result of what was done until then, the exposition received positive reviews and eight works–“Time of Neglect”, “Reciprocity”, “My Lands”, “Victims of Genocide”, “Unconquered”, and others - remained as a gift to the city. As noted by the art critics, before Masniuk Uzhhorod sculpture hadn’t so expressive and philosophically profound works. Some of them, unfortunately, were destroyed by vandals, but a few of them are in the collections of friends and the artist himself. He shows his works with special love and respect: here is the light-winged “Victory Moment” - a symbol of the ascent of the human spirit to the coveted summit; a real feeling of kindness, peace and grace radiates from the small, fragile, so soft that you just want to take in hands sculpture “Warmth”; and the work “Fate” amazes with the simplicity of the composition and extremely delicate tragedy. Man, his spirituality, its boundless universe-in the centre of the master's work, and very few can convey it in sculpture the way Masniuk does.

The artist is self-critical of his creativity. He can destroy the work, which, in his opinion, was not successful-so it was with the portrait of Ferents Seman. The sculptor will not undertake the embodiment of the idea, until he thinks it over from the all sides, and the maturing period can take years.  “A portrait of the famous graphic artist Pavlo Bedzir was created for a long time,” the artist recalled. –The idea wasn’t born for ten years. I was not interested in doing an “accounting” version. And one day, on the seashore, the idea appeared. Having been ready, it became matured and I with great joy cancelled my flight to the Crimea to return home faster. Bedzir posed for me a little more, but the main thing was already done-in my mind. It was easy to work and when the work was ready, I was shaking - it was so interesting what the master would say. He looked and said the only thing: “You know, let’s go to have breakfast, the work is okay …” I recalled that breakfast turned into lunch, and then to dinner. We talked about all the world, art problems, but the main thing was that the portrait was done.”

Master sadly tells how difficult for artists to survive in the modern world, especially for sculptors. And, now it is not necessary to speak about the implementation of ideas in such an expensive material as, for example, bronze. In this case, the artist does not give up-jokingly says that he still survives, because there are colleagues who are doing worse, and so he tries to help, involving them to the joint projects.  “Now it's very difficult. Therefore, I am grateful to those people who from time to time support me …  Therefore, it is a shame to remember how Van Gogh or Erdeli died in poverty, not to mention the woman of the latter, Magdalene. But, that is life, there are different people – some of them rejoice at that gloom, others – suffer,” - the artist states.

Work of the whole life of Ivan Masniuk is yet to come. The master says that the idea, which will become the quintessence of his creativity, should become the history of the Carpathian Ukraine, which was abolished suddenly and brutally. “This idea has been in me for a good 10 years. And, it is necessary only that a demon come one day, a good master nearby who would weld the frame, some money to buy the material… This would be a sin not to perform this work...”

Text: Nataliia Petervari

Photo: Robert Dovhanych