Monumental and Decorative Art in the Creativity of Mykola Malyshko of the Late 1960s – 1980s

Abstract

The article examines figurative and stylistic searches in the monumental and decorative art of Mykola Malyshko in the late 1960s -1980s. The topicality of the subject area is determined by the lack of research on his art and the loss of most of these works. It was established that the artist, during his independent creative search after finishing the workshop of monumental painting of Kyiv State Art Institute, improved his practical skills in the field of techniques and technologies of monumental painting and sculpture, and brought an individual beginning to them. Despite the ideological and propaganda subtext of Soviet art, which limited artists' creativity, the authorial language of M. Malyshko quickly formed a number of distinctive stylistic features and pictorial techniques. From the very beginning, this was facilitated by the wide range of interests of the artist, who was nourished by the sources of not only Ukrainian avant-garde art, but also Western art. New means of visualization and plastic character in sculpture contributed to experiments with different types of wood and stone, sheet iron, copper, steel, brass, zinc and aluminum. The renewal of the textile art traditions, fascination with the tapestry as a decorative dominant of the interior did not pass by the creative work of M. Malyshko in the late 1960s. Using atypical materials for weaving and decorating tapestries, the artist combines them with other pictorial and sculptural compositions into the single ensemble. The emergence of the monumental concrete sgraffito technique led to the creation of panels with significant relief in interiors. Turning to the image of a contemporary, as one of the leading themes of that time art, M. Malyshko delves into the artistic knowledge of reality, the search for new stylistic techniques and means of expression. Ukrainian historical themes and folk tales also enrich his works and open up new ways of communicating with the audience. Working in tempera painting, fresco, mosaic and sgraffito techniques, he uses pure and bright colors that enhance the decorativeness and monumentality of his compositions. Monumental works of M. Malyshko are distinguished by a coherent, harmonious relationship with the architectural framework, observance of the real and conventional measure. Stylization allows the most accurately expression of the essence of each plot and image. The sculptural decoration made of Alminsky stones of the courtyard of the Kyiv hotel "Kyiv" (1973) and the facade of one of the educational buildings of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (1978Kyiv ( -1982 embody the artist's long plastic searches, metaphorical substances and images that have become the basis for subsequent artistic experiments in 1990s and later years. At that time, rapid construction, reconstruction of buildings, and decommunization caused the loss of most of M. Malyshko's monumental and decorative creative works in Kyiv, Dnipro, and many other cities of Ukraine.