SHELEPETS KATERYNA

“… Kateryna Shelepets – a pedagogue, people’s artist, cultural figure, lyricist, in love with life and nature … With the deep sense of love, she glorifies the beauty of her native land, the work of Lemko's compatriots …” ("Our Word", Warsaw, 14 and 21 July 1985).

Kateryna Shelepets was born in a large family of a logger Illia Seheda from Velykyi Bereznyi village, Transcarpathia. Among the nine children, Kateryna was the youngest and, she, who lost her parents at a young age, received a diploma of a public school teacher at the Uzhhorod Teachers' Seminary (1926 - 1930). When studying at the seminary, Kateryna learned painting skills at Yosyp Bokshai. At the time of the Soviet era, she studied geography at Lviv Pedagogical Institute.

Since Kateryna Shelepets and her husband Ivan conducted active cultural, educational and patriotic work, they were persecuted and harassed by the authorities. Life (in order to find a job) made her study chemistry at the Lviv Pedagogical Institute for a short period of time (1947 – 1952).

She devoted all her life to pedagogical work, which she began in 1930. However, she did not leave her favourite occupation – painting. It is interesting that Kateryna Shelepets, as her contemporaries and, in particular, her son Volodymyr recall, never called herself an artist.

She managed to work as a schoolteacher in Ilnytsia village of Irshava region, Strachava, Stavne, Uzhok villages, which are in Velykyi Bereznyi region, and in the district centre – Velykyi Bereznyi. Thus, Kateryna Shelepets instilled love for art in more than one generation of children in different parts of Transcarpathia. For example, the artist Mykhailo Romanyshyn repeatedly emphasized that it was the very school teacher Kateryna who instilled in him love for painting and pointed him the right path. Another talented artist, Vitalii Slobodskyi, recalled her as well: "My teacher of chemistry, Kateryna Shelepets, was an original artist, she was acquainted with all the coryphaei of the Transcarpathian art."

In addition to teaching, she was engaged in acting and theatre, literary translations and journalism on art topics. She was an art director of the dance club and headed a painting studio.

She worked as a master in the genres of landscape, still life (among her works predominating are flower compositions), and created genre works. In her canvases, it is clearly expressed love for the native land, its nature and colour. A warm palette produces a positive impression as if her works are all saturated with the sun.

She also worked as an illustrator, in particular, for Lesia Ukrainka's "Forest Song".

Although she considered her passion for painting to be one of the ways of self-development, she nevertheless actively represented her works at regional and republican exhibitions. Participated in collective and personal exhibitions. The latter, in particular, took place in Uzhhorod (1981) and Lviv (1986) and became significant cultural and art events of that time.

The works of Kateryna Shelepets are kept in the funds of the Lviv Museum of Folk Architecture and Life, private collections in Ukraine and abroad – Canada, Russia, and Slovakia.

Kateryna died on 26 December 1988 in Uzhhorod and buried in Velykyi Bereznyi.

Text: Kseniia Shokina

© Art & Culture Foundation Brovdi Art