Internal Freedom and Search after Truth by Yulia Omelchuk

Tuesday, 06 May 2008 21:11

The one-man exhibition of Yuriy Nagulko “Search after Truth” took place at “Mystets” Gallery of the Kyiv National Union of Artists in Chervonoarmiyska Street. The exhibition consists of three parts – the first being sacral and consisting mostly of the biblical scenes and characters, the second dedicated to the lovely sights of the motherland and foreign places and the philosophical third rendering the artist’s view of the world and his own personality through the coded characters.

Nowadays, Yuriy Nagulko is a mature painter of great originality though he did not get a specialized art diploma (he is a civil engineer by education). Philosophical way of thinking, aspiration to trial-blazing experiments and dedicated work led the talented self-taught painter to the high professional level. He studied a number of national and foreign academic books on Art History, anatomy, composite design, prospect and paint formulation and deserved the right to be called a professional. Now he could have passed the exams to the most severe professor. The absence of the art diploma in the Soviet times deprived Yuriy of government caring – he could not participate in any exhibition activity, he did not get commissions, and the Ministry of Culture did not purchase his works for its funds. Thus, he was estranged from the art society for a long time. Nevertheless, such independence provided a great impulse to the internal freedom and let off the leash allowing working in all fairness.

The fifth exposition proves the powerful and comprehensive personality surprising with the deep knowledge of the religious subject on which the artist works thoughtfully and carefully. The impressive paintings from “Search after Truth” make people stop in the daily routine and think of the everlasting issues of faith, hope and love. Laconism and modest colour palette features the paintings of Yuriy Nagulko. They irradiate peace, warmth and happiness. One can mention his iconography (“Annunciation”, “Joseph and Mary”, “Luxor”, “Night”, “St. Nicholas”, “Samaritan”) as well as landscape paintings (“Father’s House”, “A Path to the Temple”, “The Sunset in Krenychi”, “The Poppies”, “The Mulberry Trees”). The philosophical and symbolic works enable the artist to give full scope to imagination and depict it with a detailed design and many plotlines. “Abyss”, “A Girl with the Blue Vase”, “Musicians”, “The Wall”, “The Holy Trinity, or Whitsunday” paintings seem to match the incompatible – the past and present, fantasy and reality, cruelty of the everyday life and meditation on the eternal.

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