Watch the virtual opening event of the exhibition which took place March 20, 2021. In Bloom: Nature and Art Curator's gallery tour and Recital by the "Shelest Piano Duo" Immerse yourself in a veritable garden of floral-themed selections of paintings and other fine art displayed together with similarly inspired folk art items such as embroidered garments, kilims, ceramics, and pysanky (decorated eggs) from the Museum's permanent collections.

Order the exhibition catalogue in the Museum's online shop. In Bloom: Nature and Art Essay by guest curator Jaroslaw Leshko Bilingual (English and Ukrainian) Illustrated: color Softcover, 120 pages The Ukrainian Museum, New York, 2020 8 1/2"W x 8 3/4"H US$29.95 plus S/H Members: 10% discount

List of artists showing in In Bloom Petro Cholodny Jr. (1902–1990) Alexis Gritchenko (1883–1977) Jacques Hnizdovsky (1915–1985) Luboslav Hutsaliuk (1923–2003) Alla Johansen (1901–1993) Nina Klymovska Anatole Kolomayets (1927–2014) Vasyl Hryhorovych Krychevsky (1873–1952) Lubomyr Kuzma (1913–2004) Alla Leshko Mychajlo Moroz (1904–1992) Oleksa Novakivsky (1872–1935) Chrystya Olenska (1941–1979) Arcadia Olenska-Petryshyn (1934–1996) Gelena Pavlenko Oleksa Shatkivsky (1908–1979) André Solohub (1922–2010) Yaroslava Surmach Mills (1925–2008) Mikhail Turovsky Opanas Zalyvakha (1925–2007) Mykhailo Zhuk (1883–1964)

Media inquiries: it(a)ukrainianmuseum.org

In Bloom: Nature and Art
Floral Motifs in The Ukrainian Museum's Permanent Collections
"A Celebration of Spring"

Virtual opening March 20, 2021

New York—The Ukrainian Museum is pleased to present the exhibition In Bloom: Nature and Art, featuring selections from the Museum’s fine art and folk art collections curated by Jaroslaw Leshko, Professor Emeritus of Art, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, and Lubow Wolynetz, the Museum’s Curator of Folk Art. The exhibition explores the impact of the flower motif through the prism of Ukraine’s folk art traditions and the works of its preeminent artists of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. In Bloom showcases more than 50 artworks by 21 artists and over 60 folk art objects, all highlighting floral themes. The exhibition will open to the public virtually with a free online event, fittingly scheduled for the first day of spring, Saturday evening, March 20, 2021. Viewers tuning in at 7 p.m. ET to the Museum's Facebook page or YouTube channel will be treated to a curator's gallery tour as well as to a performance by the Shelest Piano Duo.

Among the artists featured in In Bloom is Oleksa Novakivsky, "whose Art School in Lviv (1923–1933) and vigorous, expansive painting technique influenced a generation of young artists. The floral motif became a strong presence in his oeuvre, perhaps nowhere more brilliantly explored than in the magisterial work Woman with Roses" (J. Leshko)—one of the most imposing works on display.

A significant presence in the exhibition is a selection of works by Vasyl Hryhorovych Krychevsky. As described by the guest curator, "the soft lyricism of Krychevsky’s still lifes is surpassed only by the breathtaking scope of his output as architect, painter, graphic designer, and one of the principal founders of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts in 1917." Among the key artists whose creative periods also developed abroad are the renowned graphic artist Jacques Hnizdovsky, Alexis Gritchenko, who settled in France, Mychajlo Moroz, a protégé of Novakivsky, Luboslav Hutsaliuk, Nina Klymovska, and Arcadia Olenska-Petryshyn.

Viewers will be delighted by the numerous folk art items on view: exquisitely woven kilims, women’s costumes, women’s and men’s embroidered shirts, woven wrap-around skirts, embroidered and woven ritual cloths (rushnyky), primarily from the central regions of Ukraine, a rich display of the country’s signature, intricately decorated Easter eggs (pysanky), and ceramics from the Hutsul region.

In Bloom: Nature and Art is accompanied by an illustrated exhibition catalogue ($29.95, www.ukrainianmuseum.org/shop) with an essay by guest curator, Jaroslaw Leshko.

In Bloom was originally slated to open in April 2020. Work on the exhibition was abruptly halted due to the mandated museum closings precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the Museum closed for the time being, the exhibition’s closing date is as yet undetermined.

About the Museum

The Ukrainian Museum acquires, preserves, and exhibits articles of artistic or historic significance to the rich cultural heritage of Ukrainian Americans; its collections include thousands of items of folk art, fine art, and archival material. At its founding in 1976 by the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, the Museum was hailed as one of the finest achievements of Americans of Ukrainian descent. Since then, and particularly since its move in 2005 to a new, state-of-the-art building in Manhattan’s vibrant East Village, it has become known as one of the most interesting and dynamic smaller museums in New York City. Each year, the Museum organizes several exhibitions, publishes bilingual (English/Ukrainian) catalogues, and presents a wide range of public and educational programs, including concerts, films, lectures, courses, workshops, and special events.

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