We are inviting you to the opening of the project with the participation of the artist that will take place in Ya Gallery Art Center in Kyiv, at 49B Khoryva Str., on August 13th, from 19.00 to 21.30.

Experimenting with classic graphic design and folk art, Oleg Gryshchenko continues to test them on various mediums and in space that serves as imitation of a natural world as well. Whether extending a topic to the landscape (Two, 2012) or narrowing it to a grain (Memoria, 2013), in a new project the author "cultivates" flowers which became an appropriate continuation of his last project Grain Memory in Ya Gallery.

According to the artist's confession, he "copied" his images from Ukrainian craftsmen's flowers – Petrykivsky painting, folk artisans and Hanna Shostak's works. Gryshchenko's hereditary "disposition" to floral themes became determinant for their appearance, as well as an attempt to consolidate a natural cycle in quite a hermetic gallery space. Looking into the future, the artist states the "prosperity"which seems to be found not only in a literal blossoming, but primarily in the development of a social environment according to challenges of time: "Despite hard times, Ukrainian folk art features both optimism and faith in better times that are definitely to come".

Once Nina Denysova* said about her desires: "Nowadays an artist lacks time for many things since he tries to beat off raiders with one hand and earn money with another. But I just want to paint flowers". At last the same desire came to me too. A year ago, as I was working on "The memory of grains", I knew that my flowers would blossom. It was logical to paint flowers after grains as a new step in a loop: like a child who repeats behavior of an adult, a human repeats the nature.

My mother draws very beautiful flowers. And heredity always chases me: I feel that I have been given something that I didn't completely realize what to do with it; however, I have no doubts in the power of this thing. That is how I try to reflect upon it. After working with grains, I deal with flowers which are almost ready. They were selected by folk artisans who drew them a hundred years ago or even earlier. I like to copy, to print and to transform them into cliches of my own interpretation.

Recently flowers have gained a wide associative range since too often we can see them at scenes of murders, on spring trees, in passers-by's hands, at scenes of murders again, in street flower-beds, in garderns where one would like to look for comfort... Finally, flowers receive their meaning from people while remaining themselves. I have 23 flower forms – and 23 years of Ukrainian state. And consciousness of prosperity – whether one likes it or not.

Oleg Gryshchenko

* Nina Denysova (born 1942) – Ukrainian painter and graphic artist, member of the National Artists' Association of Ukraine, the wife of painter and sculptor Mykola Malyshko.