Maria Prymanchenko, (1908 - 1997) lived in Bolotnya, a village near Chernobyl. The paintings in this exhibition are part of a family collection and this is the first time they are being shown publicly - and the first time her work is being shown in the UK.
This exhibition shows her paintings about village life, memories and creatures from her imagination.
Gallery view of Maria Prymachenko at Saatchi
She had polio when she was a child which left her with paralysis in her legs and meant she had to spend a lot of time in bed. Two paintings from 1982 told this story. She wrote on the back that she thought her illness was connected to an old woman who scared her.
‘Untitled’ 1982 Text on back of work: An old woman Fedorykha who scared me and I got sick. M. P.
‘Untitled’ 1982 Text on back of work: An old woman frightened me. I was paralyzed. Then everything got better, but my right leg remained paralyzed. However I did everything. M. P.
She began working in the Ivankiv Co-operative Embroidery Association in the late 1920s, and in 1935 was invited to study and work at the Central Experimental Workshop of the Kyiv Museum of Ukrainian Art. From 1936 her work started to spread from Kyiv and was shown in Moscow, Leningrad and Paris.
This exhibition showed mostly her autobiographical work, about life in her village, herding animals and learning to draw.
Gallery view with a painting showing 2 people herding sheep in the foreground
‘Untitled’ 1982 Text on back of work: I grazed geese under a willow tree and learned to draw with a stick in the sand M. P.
She also made paintings of imagined ’beasts’, some of them acting selfishly, or doing cheeky things. Lots of them wore hats making them a bit human.
‘The Beast Eats the Lower Cherries to Prevent Anyone Else Eating Them’ 1992
‘The Beast’ 1992
The Prymachenko Family Foundation are working to create a museum complex where Maria Prymachenko used to live. It will include a museum with her creations, and will also be a place for residencies for contemporary artists. “It will be a place of strength, capable of welcoming guests from around the world after Ukraine's victory." - Natalia Gnatiuk, partner of the Prymachenko Family Foundation and co-curator.
The exhibition is on until 20 September, at Saatchi gallery London.
Gallery view