Kateryna Bilokur is an incredible Ukrainian artist of naive art. There is probably no person in Ukraine who has not heard of Kateryna Vasylivna’s works of art. However, as Oksana Zabuzhko notes in her essay from the collection «Planet of Wormwood», no biography has yet been written about Kateryna Bilokur.
And the most frequent mention of the artist on the Internet is next to the name of Picasso. Countless publications in the spirit: Ukrainian woman who impressed Picasso. And I want to start the story about Kateryna Bilokur by explaining why such formulations are incorrect. Pablo Picasso was a prominent artist of the 20th century, as was Kateryna Bilokur. But he lived in another country, had other opportunities for education and creative realization. This is one of the reasons for its widespread popularity. Kateryna Bilokur did not receive an art education, because the governing communist party was against it, she did not have the opportunity to leave the country for exhibitions, see the world and show herself to the world. But, Pablo Picasso was not an art critic or an art researcher, he was a colleague of Kateryna Bilokur. Therefore, such formulations, as if Picasso himself or another artist appreciated Bilokur’s work, are a devaluation of the Ukrainian artist. It is another matter if the reference goes to authoritative art critics and art historians (because it is their job to describe and give their assessment of the creative work of artists). All the more incorrect are clickbait headlines mentioning Picasso’s evaluations of Kateryna Bilokur, because in this way, Picasso’s evaluation becomes the main achievement of the artist.
Kateryna Bilokur and Maria Prymachenko have been the most famous Ukrainian artists since Soviet times. It so happened that the totalitarian state prevented their talent from developing. Why? Because is it possible to create such a bright and pure art, living literally on an empty stomach?!
And meanwhile, Oksana Zabuzhko, as usual, perfectly chooses the words to characterize Bilokur’s life path, taking Shevchenko’s quote: «The history of my life is part of the history of my homeland».
Kateryna Bilokur did not receive an education, moreover, she was forbidden to write and draw at home. Her parents decided not to send her to school in order not to buy clothes and shoes. However, Kateryna refused. She fought all her life for her right to create and made simply incredible pictures. It is impossible not to think what other heights the artist would have been able to reach if she had received a good education, engaged only in art, and not painted in the intervals between hard peasant work.
In 1924, young Kateryna desperately tried to enter the art and ceramics technical school. However, they did not accept her documents (after all, she did not study at school) and in desperation she threw her drawings over the fence, hoping that someone would notice them and give her a chance. But, the life of Kateryna Bilokur is not at all like a fairy tale about Cinderella. It is rather closer to the scary fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.
In 1928, the situation with an attempt to study was repeated at the Kyiv Theater Technical School. The lack of school education closes the door to further education for Kateryna. The inability to study and engage in creativity drives Kateryna Bilokur to such despair that she tried to drown. After that, her father agreed to let her paint.
Kateryna makes drawing tools herself. Brushes made of cat hair and cherry branches. The artist had no frames. More precisely, there was one on which she attached the canvas like an embroiderer, painted a picture, then removed the canvas, and attached the next one to the frame.
In 1940, Kateryna wrote a letter to Oksana Petrusenko, whose song she heard on the radio, with a request to pay attention to her art works. She also puts her drawing in the envelope. The letter miraculously reached the addressee, Oksana Petrusenko showed it to Pavlo Tychyna and turned to the Center of Folk Art with a request to pay attention to the talented self-taught artist. In the same year, a personal exhibition of Kateryna Bilokur was opened in the Poltava House of Folk Art. In 1944, her paintings were bought by the Ukrainian Folk Decorative Art Museum.
In 1954, three paintings «Tsar-Colossus», «Birch», «Field of the Collective Farm» were presented at the International Exhibition in Paris.
I would like to emphasize separately, and read in more detail in the above-mentioned essay by Ms. Zabuzhko, that the Bilokur family were not collective farm workers. They were single peasants in the terrible thirties of the 20th century and were able to survive. These are the peasants who have not been found by the next generation, «broken» by the Holodomor and repressions. Kateryna Bilokur never received a passport in her entire life. Peasants did not have the right to get a passport.
Kateryna was forced to dig the garden at night, because the head of the collective farm did not provide horses for plowing. And in the afternoon, Kateryna painted as long as the sun was shining. Probably, only after the winter of 2022-23 in our country we can imagine what it means to have time to do things while there is light.
Relations in the family were very difficult. Kateryna suffers from pain in her legs after the drowning attempt, along with pain in her stomach. But the artist does not receive proper medical care. So he died at the age of 60.
There is the evidence from Kateryna Bilokur’s fellow villagers that in 1947, when there was a famine in Ukraine, she said: «that Herod should be driven around the country in a cage and shown to people like a wild animal» (she was referring to Stalin). But her fellow villagers did not betray her. In the same year, the artist refused to paint a portrait of the dictator. Another confirmation of the strength of her spirit.
Flowers were the main theme of Kateryna Bilokur’s art works. These were flowers from her yard. True, the artist did not separate seasonal flowers and in her paintings you can often see spring and autumn flowers side by side.
The artist sometimes said that the pictures are born in her head and she cannot sleep and live if she does not paint them. As if she had other opportunities. But the life of the brilliant artist fell on the terrible years 1900-1960. You can learn more about Ukrainian artists in the «Lihtaryk» art studio. And also try to reproduce the paintings of Ukrainian artists or decorative paintings: Petrykivka or Samchykivka.
For all creative master classes, the art studio offers gift certificates, which you can order as a gift to loved ones, relatives and colleagues. Choose a creative master class when planning where to go in Kyiv next time.
У меня синдром Стендаля сегодня. Утром ходили в Падуанский баптистерий. Смотрели фрески Менабуя. А после обеда у нас было посещение каппелы Скровеньи. Теперь я понимаю , что сделал Джотто для мира. Очень меня все это впечатлило в живую. Привет передала.
Мир прекрасен. Падуя очень понравилась:) спасибо за лекции Света!
Lily Golovchak
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