Olena Grishyna

I was born, live and work in Kiev. My professional career doesn’t join with art and creation. I have been working in corporate travel for over 13 years. It so happened that the quarantine made its own adjustments and my industry completely stopped during the pandemic. Therefore I could realize my old dream - to start painting. I mastered all techniques and skills of Petrykivka painting in my childhood, from 9 to 14 years old. I have been studying under Anna Venglinska. At the age of 14, I finished painting because of high school and university preparation, but since then, love for Petrykivka painting has remained in my heart. During quarantine I tried to paint Easter eggs. I didn’t have professional brushes, paints, I hadn’t held brushes in my hands for 20 years, and I didn’t know at all whether I would succeed. And for more than six months I have been actively engaged in Petrykivka painting and I devote all my free time to this unique Ukrainian decorative folk art. Sometimes I take lessons from modern painting masters, I study a lot myself, try to find something of my own unique and transfer it into my art works. I have accumulated a small collection of painted home decor. Basically, these are ceramics, mainly vases, plates. I really love handmade decor, especially ceramics. I rather painstakingly sel ect ceramic forms and order them fr om Ukrainian masters and then decorate with Petrykivka painting. As a result I receive completely handmade decorative things. Besides ceramics I like painting on canvas, although mainly paper is more suitable for Petrykivka painting. I have a goal to combine Ukrainian decorative folk art and modern interiors. Moreover, the Petrykivka painting was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013. Thank you for your attention and for looking at my works. Best regards, Elena

Amsterdam, 14-16 July, solo exhibition

National Aviation University