From an idea by Vittorio Sgarbi
One year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Mart presents the first Italian exhibition on Maria Prymachenko, a UNESCO artist in 2009.
An exponent of naive painting and heir to a centuries-old folk tradition, Maria Prymachenko inspired great artists such as Picasso, Matisse and Chagall.
In his works he mixes popular culture and modern art, re-signifies the iconography of the Ukrainian tradition, tells personal experiences and dreams. With fantastic animals, lush flora, ancestral symbols, the artist redefines popular imaginaries and makes them universal.
Prymachenko's work seems to come from prehistory, draws on pagan myths, Christian-Orthodox and popular stories from Eurasia, amalgamates Slavic mythology and Russian legends, is inspired by the great wall paintings of the Ukrainian tradition and decorative art. With its recognizable, lively, immediate style, it has been loved by several generations who, since the first half of the twentieth century, have helped to build its myth.
Works by Maria Prymachenko from the Taras Shevchenko National Museum in Kiev.
