Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1364923
3 color, the figural dualities of man-woman or animal-flower, their renderings evoke the melding of extremes into a harmonious totality. Earthen colors, approximating the mineral elements of the ochres and umbres used in icon-painting, along with the organization of a visual field into vignettes of life (known in iconography as "kleima"), point clearly to homegrown traditions of naïve art, where icons have their special place. Kosarev's "masks" are a direct reference to the frontal, two-dimensional renderings of the Acheiropoieta type (icons "not-made-by-human-hand"). The modern, creatively abstracted restoration of Ukrainian artistic traditions by Kosarev and Syniakova accommodates both the deeply philosophical as it can also revel in the bawdy–a reflection of a national cultural trait that blends humor and theatricality with profound spirituality and transcendence. Added to this are the contrasts of dark-light and combined textures of paint and pencil that further emphasize the coexistence of opposing entities. It is no wonder that Krasna Polyana–a quiet unassuming rural hamlet, and such a contrast to the bustling modern Kharkiv environment nearby, became a magnet for those of their ilk who would value the unconventional, the unacademic, the unrestrained urges of Ukrainian artistic expression. Far from the seats of artistic control—St. Petersburg and Moscow—the Ukrainian souls of these artists could roam free and uninhibited, as their own national nature dictated. Miroslava Mudrak Professor Emeritus Department of History of Art The Ohio State University Fireplace, Ukraine, 1900's