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The exhibition "Metaphorical Realism of Mykola Kumanovsky" was opened within the framework of the cultural and artistic project "Diffusion" from the Korsakov Museum

The city of Kropyvnytskyi gladly accepts a traveling exhibition project called "Diffusion", the initiator and organizer of which is the Museum of Contemporary Ukrainian Art Korsakov (Lutsk). This project has a great goal - to show thirty exhibitions of contemporary Ukrainian art and the creative potential of the nation in all regions of the country by the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence! By the way, it contains three expositions (series): "Constellation" - an exhibition of works by contemporary Ukrainian artists, "Cosmos by Emma Andievska" and "Metaphorical Realism of Mykola Kumanovsky". Our city is the 17th among the regional centers where these exhibitions open.

The Museum of Contemporary Ukrainian Art (MSUMK), founded by the Korsakovs Victor and Lesya, initiated the cultural and artistic project "Year of Mykola Kumanovsky (1951-2016)" on the occasion of the upcoming anniversary - the 70th anniversary of the artist, which will be celebrated on August 31, 2021 .

About the artist:

Mykola Kumanovsky (1951–2016) was born on August 31, 1951 in the town of Sataniv in Khmelnytsky region. In 1970-1975 he studied at Lviv School of Applied Arts named after Ivan Trush. In 1975–1979 he studied at Lviv State Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts. In 1978–1979, Mykola Kumanovsky worked as a prop specialist for Lviv Puppet Theater, in 1982 as an artist-director of the Volyn Puppet Theater, and from 1985 to 1987 he held the position of chief theater artist. In 1979–1981 he was the first chairman of the association of the Club of Creative Youth. From the end of the 1980s, Mykola Kumanovsky was engaged only in creative work. In 1988, the artist made a project to design a play based on V. Bykov "Go and not come back" at the Volyn Regional Music and Drama Theater named after T. Shevchenko.

In the same year, the artist created a painting of the vestibule of the Assumption Cathedral in Volodymyr-Volynskyi. In 1989 he painted the church in the village of Kuleshovka, Azov district, Rostov region. In 1989–1993, Mykola Kumanovsky was the director of the All-Ukrainian Television Festival of Author's Song and Sung Poetry "Oberig". In 1993 - the artist became the author of the art project "Labyrinth". In 1991–1996, Mykola Kumanovsky created a model of the monument to the Fighters for the Freedom of Ukraine "Shooting Forest". In 1994, at the invitation of the State College of Pennsylvania, he made a creative trip to the United States, where he successfully, for almost six months, studied at the Faculty of Graphics. In 2001 he became the winner of the regional award named after Job Kondzelevich. In 2003–2006 he was the art director of the initial publishing house. In 2004, the publishing house "Volyn Regional Printing House" published a collection of verlibry artist "Follow in the footsteps." In 2010, the initial publishing house published a double collection of works of art with its own illustrations, "The Book of Kostrubisms" and The Book for Markian.

The artist Mykola Kumanovsky lived and worked in Lutsk for over forty years. In this city he created a three-dimensional work of easel painting, sculpture, author's and printed graphics. Indeed, each work of Mykola Ivanovych reflects not only his own stylistic quests and achievements, personal perception of the world and understanding of beauty, but also the spiritual impulses of the controversial twentieth century. The artist wrote in the style of metaphorical realism - mysterious, frank, spiritually energetic, with complex symbolism, to some extent, even intellectual works can not fail to fascinate. Note that it is impossible to consider and deeply comprehend everything seen at once. His paintings should not only be looked at, but read more deeply, but this is one of the "highlights" of the artist.

What is the secret of Kumanovsky's popularity? According to art critics, his paintings are not the art from which one can get only aesthetic pleasure. Canvases first of all force to think, reflect, fantasize and dream. "I do not know why this is so. God knows, - says the author. - Creation goes from word to image. This path is long, and it is difficult for me to say how everything is transformed from the initial word, but in the end it turns into a metaphor. If I need to achieve a goal, I will achieve it. You can spit on the canvas or spray something, or use a technique that would stretch the paint, or something else, but if there is no idea, then such a thing is worthless.

Mykola Kumanovsky's creative work is impressive - over the years he has created large pictorial and graphic series - "Conditional Ukrainians", "On the Waters", "Dark Ukrainian Night", "Cursed", "It ruffles a broken stem", "Matter", "Grand March" Autodafe "and others. By the way, he is the author of the coat of arms of Lutsk, as well as numerous illustrations to books, in particular to the complete collection of works by Hryhoriy Skovoroda, which was published in the USA.

Today Kumanovsky's work is considered and studied as one of the brightest representatives of the artistic environment of Volyn. He became famous as a genius who belonged to the so-called "unofficial" art. It was he who became the prototype of the protagonist - "the devil of a good artist" - Oksana Zabuzhko's outrageous novel "Field Studies of Ukrainian Sex"… Numerous personal exhibitions of the artist were held in Philadelphia, Kiev, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytsky and native Lutsk.

 

The exhibition entitled "Metaphorical Realism of Nikolai Kumanovsky" at the Museum of Art presents 66 paintings from different cycles - oil paintings and graphic works made in the technique of autozincography, watercolors, ink and pen, etching, carbon pencil and ballpoint pen 1970-2016. .

The message encoded by Mykola Ivanovych in his works really does not lose its relevance today - it is perceived sharply and painfully. Combining tragedy with subtle irony, through surrealism and emotional plots, the artist speaks of the lost connection of the people with their history, disharmony within society and the dream of self-consciousness of modern man.

"He is a man of the world, but at the same time he is our man. His art is difficult to read and understand, but it is multi-layered. That is, each person in accordance with the level of their education, experience, immersion in art can find their response in the soul. Each work can be evaluated differently each time, comprehending layer by layer, getting to philosophy ", - this is how Ms. Lesya Korsak characterizes Mykola Ivanovych's work.

During the opening of the exhibition by the curator - Mrs. Olena Naidko, 2 works by MI Kumanovsky were transferred to the stock collection of the Museum of Arts: "Untitled", 1970 (etching).

 

Lesya Nestroyna - senior researcher of the Department of Scientific and Educational work Kropyvnytskyi Art Museum