Exhibits

Now on view:

Petrykivka Spring

March 19 through June 30, 2017

Welcome spring and the Year of the Rooster with a special exhibit of folk painting from the village of Petrykivka in central Ukraine, presented by the Ukrainian Historical and Educational Center and collectors Yuri Mischenko and Natalie Pawlenko.

The Petrykivka style originated from an ancient decorative painting tradition in central Ukraine, where it was used to decorate whitewashed walls, ceiling beams, hearths, and household items. Petrykivka paintings are characterized by core motifs that reflect the unity between humans and their natural environment and the cyclical rebirth of life, including flowers, trees, and birds. 

This exhibit presents over 30 works of noted artists working in the Petrykivka tradition from the 1980s to the present, including Volodymyr Hlushchenko, Halyna Nazarenko, Olena Panko-Yarmolyuk, Uliana Sklyar, Valentyna Milenko, and others from the collection of Mischenko/Pawlenko collection.

However, it also goes "beyond the canvas" and explores the historical context of this distinctively Ukrainian art tradition, which was put on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2013. Learn about its origins in folk spirituality, its connections to the Ukrainian Kozak state, and its recent transformation into a "brand" of independent Ukraine.

The exhibit opens with a reception and gallery talk on Sunday, March 19th, 2017 from 1pm-4pm. Some pieces will also be available for purchase.

Regular hours: M-F 9am–5pm and Saturday Noon–4pm, or groups by appointment. The gallery will be closed for Easter/Pascha weekend (April 14th-17th, reopening at 1pm on April 18th) and Memorial Day weekend (May 27th-29th). It will be open for special visiting hours on Sunday, April 23rd (St. Thomas Sunday) Noon-4pm.

Image: Olena Kharchenko. Morning Rooster, 2016. Acrylic on paper, 16.5 x 23 in. Collection of Yuri Mischenko and Natalie Pawlenko.

 

 

 

While the Center's new museum building is under construction, we are presenting exhibits in the Library Gallery.

This gallery occupies the location formerly used by the UOC of USA bookstore, and has been completely refurbished for use as a gallery, including the installation of museum-grade UV absorbing film on the windows to protect the displayed artifacts from sunlight damage.

View map and get directions.

Online exhibits

 

Ukraine 1933: A Cookbook

A sampling of a series of 80 linocuts by Ukrainian artist Mykola Bondarenko (b. 1949) depicting the unbelievable “menu” that survivors of the Holodomor subsisted on.

 
 

Two post-war immigrant experiences

All of the post-World War II refugees who fled Ukraine in the mid 1940s ahead of the advancing Red Army had their tales of hardship and triumph. In this exhibit, we tell the stories of two similar, but at the same time very different refugee experiences.

 
 

The story behind "The Carol of the Bells"

How did a Ukrainian winter song arranged for chorus by Mykola Leontovych end up as the perennial American Christmas favorite "The Carol of the Bells"? The story involves an unlikely musical ensemble called the "Ukrainian National Chorus". Here we tell the story of the Chorus through archival materials from the collection of Fr. Mykola Kostets'kyi, who was a member of the Chorus in the 1920s.