PONOMARENKO NADIIA

Member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (1985). Honoured Artist of Ukraine (1996).

She was born on 5 April 1951 in Uzhhorod. During school years, the artist visited the fine studio of Zoltan Bakoniia. The masterful teaching of the basics of drawing by the talented teacher and the plein airs to the Carpathians contributed to her creative development. When she was in high school, the book “The Letters of Van Gogh” fell into her hands, which made a great impression and helped to prove her belonging to the artistic sphere.

After school, Nadiia entered the Ukrainian Polygraphic Institute named after Ivan Fedorov (Lviv), where she studied at the Department of Graphic Arts from 1967 to 1972. Lviv of the 70s charmed a young artist with its artistic environment and presented her friends with whom it was possible to grow creatively. She was inspired by prominent personalities, artists Liubomyr Medvid, Laszlo Pushkas and especially Mariia Savka-Kachmar. Then Nadiia received her first strong artistic impressions, which later reflected in her works.

Graduating from the institute, she worked in the artistic and technical editions of the regional printing publishing house. All her free time she devoted to drawing. In the early 80s, she completely immersed in art.

She created in different genres and techniques. At first, it was black and white graphic works and miniature – ex libris. After that – colour graphics and pastels. Recently she has been engaged in oil painting and book design. A notable feature of the artist is a sophisticated, deeply aesthetic perception of the world. She embodies her artistic ideas and reasoning in the language of elegant, sophisticated and perfect in her beauty of painting style. The painting world of the artist exists in the conditional timeless dimension, and the imaginative system as if balances on the thin line between life realities and dreams, reality and imagination.

The personal place in the author's work takes sacred art. Every artist's work is captivating with quiet beauty and, despite internal drama, breathes harmony and peace. Paintings of the artist – as a microcosm, full of symbols, signs and secret meanings, requiring thoughtful contemplation, emotional and philosophical comprehension. She said: “Everyone probably needs to understand eternity and harmony – it helps to overcome daily chaos for a minute, to swim out of its whirlpool.”

The artist is one of the laureates of the first exhibition of fine arts of Ukrainian artists of the world: Biennale “Lviv'91 – Renaissance”, diploma winner of the International Exhibition-Contest of Graphics of Small Forms “Cathedral 1596 – 1996” (Ivano-Frankivsk). In 2009, the artist received the award at the 3rd Biennale of Iconography and Sacred Art of the Carpathian Euro Region (Trebišov, Slovakia).

Others important areas in which the author's talent was demonstrated are book design and illustration. In general, the artist has designed more than 50 editions. She collaborated with such publishers as “Dnipro”, “Karpaty”, “Kameniar”, and “Hrazhda”. Especially she was impressed with book design for the publishing house “Mystetska LiniIa”.

In 1996, Nadiia Ponomarenko was awarded the Honorary Artist of Ukraine title.

The author – twice laureate of the Regional Prize named after Y. Bokshai and A. Erdeli in the field of fine arts and crafts in the genre of applied graphics of 1997 and 2015 – for a series of illustrations “Silhouettes”.

Since 2004, the artist has joined the teaching staff, headed the Department of Graphic Design of the Transcarpathian Art Institute (Uzhhorod), which later transformed into the Transcarpathian Academy of Arts, where she (Associate Professor of the Department of Graphic Design) has been teaching until this day.

The artist participates in regional (since 1977) and all-Ukrainian (since 1981) art exhibitions. Participant in international plein airs and numerous foreign exhibitions, including the exhibition of ex libris – 1980 (Linz, Austria), Biennale of small forms of graphics – 1985 (Lodz, Poland).

The author of about ten personal exhibitions in Uzhhorod, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, and Lviv.

Participant in projects of All-Ukrainian association “Artania”.

Member of the Association of Creative Women of Transcarpathia “New Form” (founded in 2000), under the auspices of which he exhibited her works in collective exhibitions of painting and graphics. Some of the recent (2017-2018): “Four Dimensions” (Uzhhorod); “Vereta” (Vinnytsia, Ternopil, Chernivtsi, Rivne); “Under the Glass” (Uzhhorod).

The works of the artist are kept at the National Museum of Ukrainian Art (Kyiv), Lviv Art Gallery, Transcarpathian Regional Art Museum (Uzhhorod), Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi Art Museums.

Text: Liudmyla Kozlovska
© Art & Culture Foundation Brovdi Art