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We are going to talk about Zhenia Lukianenko, an artist and student of the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture. The girl created an amazing exhibition at the Kyiv Manor House and stunned visitors with her sensitive, emotional paintings.

I am really grateful for your kind words. This is a great opportunity for me to share my work and thoughts. The exhibition “The Silence of Memories” was an important step for me, and I am glad that it found a response in the hearts of the audience,” says Zhenya.

It’s time to learn more about the concept behind the exhibition. What inspired Zhenia to choose this heading? Are there any personal memories in her works?

“To be honest, I didn’t think about the title of the exhibition for a long time. When I was selecting works for the exhibition together with the curator, among the selected works was my favorite painting at the time, called “The Silence of Memories.” We decided that this title best resonated with the concept of the entire exhibition. “The Silence of Memories” is an internal dialog where each object on the canvas tells its own story, preserving a piece of the past and inviting the viewer to nostalgia and close, personal communication with their memories. Thus, it evokes a whole range of feelings – from tenderness to melancholy, from joy to sadness, and creates an atmosphere of intimacy and thoughtfulness. Each work contains my emotions, experiences, perception of events from my life, as well as personal moments, etc. For me, in order to write even a small sketch, there must be some kind of “emotional impetus,” perhaps this is the same loud word “inspiration.” I often attend exhibitions and creative events, which not only help to broaden my horizons, but also help me to get to know myself as an artist. When I communicate with other artists, I get valuable insights that help me to clearly understand what ideas and themes are most important to me in my own work,” Zhenia added.

Photo by : Yevheniia Kulikovska

Yevheniia also adds that she started working on a series of these still lifes in February of this year, and then it was a very interesting period in her life, full of emotions and creative inspiration.

“For a long time, I wanted to find a mentor who would help me create something bigger, something that could grow then into an exhibition project. As if by magic, I got a unique opportunity to study with Maksym Malylio. His painting is as lively and exquisite as possible for me. By the way, I don’t know why we started with still lifes, but we painted one after another and have already painted 10 works. At that time, I worked very hard, in addition to studying at the academy, I had additional classes with Maksym several times a week, and I surprised myself with my productivity-–I didn’t feel tired or burned out at all. I worked fruitfully and inspiredly, and I would never have thought that I would write so many papers in such a short time,” she says.

The young artist also focuses on how the old manor house was just the perfect place for the exhibition. The first time she came there was in mid-June, invited by Yana Vesnina (curator) to show the house that had just been restored by the NGO “Real Kyiv” and the exhibition space they created. On the same day, Zhenia Lukianenko decided that the exhibition was going to happen and scheduled it for August.

“The house’s textures, colors, authentic details, vintage objects almost like those from my paintings – all of this inspired me to create Silence of Memories. The place itself is also a kind of “space of memories” because people used to live here and “write” their life stories.

With my works, I tried to immerse the viewers in a calm, meditative space where simple and everyday things take on new meanings. Attention to detail, texture of fabrics, vintage household items, flowers in vases, the play of light on objects emphasize time and its fluidity – through this I wanted to evoke a sense of thoughtfulness and contemplation, forcing the viewer to pay attention to the beauty of our everyday life and the transience of life. The still-lives themselves are filled with a certain intimacy that invites us to think about how things around us become carriers of memories over time,” says the artist.

Photo by : Yevheniia Kulikovska

Most often, she heard about how her works perfectly fit the halls of the estate and the space in general, “as if these paintings were painted here.” Many people were surprised that she was only 20 years old and noted that this was very powerful for a first exhibition. Visitors also noticed how Yevheniia approached the genre of still life in an original way, as it is usually associated with something classical. Her works have a modern style, a combination of realistic and abstract elements with emotional overtones.

“One lady told me on the opening night that she had never seen anything like this in her life in Kyiv and was ready to cry because of such beauty – I can’t tell you how nice it was to hear that,” Zhenia admits.

Now she is studying at the National Academy of Arts and focuses more on learning and improving her skills. She has ideas for an exhibition, at least, for spring and summer, but she clearly understands that it will take a lot of time to prepare something interesting and professional.

Photo by : Yevheniia Kulikovska

“I’ve been dreaming of entering the academy for quite a long time, probably since school. Then, in my 2nd year of study at the Boychuk Academy, I decided to try to enter the NAOMA, and I succeeded. I remember when I was taking anatomy in the spring session, the teacher found out about my plans for NAOMA and said “well, you will definitely not get in with the leg you drew”. Already from the 1st year of studying here, I noticed how my level of skills began to grow, and a year later I noticed a very big difference. The teacher partially helped me with my style and skills, but the biggest part is my hard work and daily work,” says Zhenia.

Photo by: Yevhenia Lukianenko. The studio.

She also admits that it is difficult for her to balance. If she feels that she has the inspiration and strength to create paintings, she chooses this and only this. Sometimes Zhenia can disappear from social media for a week or two, minimizing any meetings to work on her paintings.

“It is also worth remembering that an artist is a profession, and painting is a job, so there should be a balance here, as in any other profession. The main thing is not to “overwork”, because then there can be a very long creative burnout, I have already experienced this several times,” the girl shared.

The artist shared her thoughts on the challenges faced by contemporary Ukrainian artists:

“The main thing we are facing now is the war. The artist’s profession in Ukraine is quite financially unstable, so many mega-talented people are leaving this business and going into other areas to ensure a stable standard of living. I also can’t help but mention the competition with digital content. Nowadays, you need to create something unique to stand out from the crowd and attract an audience. Since there is already a lot of different art in the information environment, it is becoming more and more difficult to adapt to it, and in my opinion, the value of painting is gradually losing its value along with digital art,” she says.

And finally, Zhenia Lukianenko gave advice to young artists who are just at the beginning of their journey:

“I’m still a beginner artist myself, but despite this, I have some experience and can already give some advice. Get used to experimenting, and don’t be afraid of new things! Any work requires constant self-improvement, being inspired by other artists, and creating something that personally resonates with you. I also strongly advise you to visit as many exhibitions in museums and galleries as possible – it will help you to form your own artistic taste. Don’t limit yourself to any framework, and do what you like. Art should be fun!” the artist emphasizes.