About The Artist

Dr. Yuryk Yaryna was born in 1984 in Lviv. Honored Artist of Ukraine. Member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, Women’s Art Association of Canada. Graduated from the Lviv Professional College of Decorative and Applied Arts named after Ivan Trush (2003), Lviv Polytechnic National University (2005). Ph.D. (2012). Founder of the modern cordocentric worldview direction of watercolor painting in Ukraine. Selection committees chose her works for exhibition in many countries of the world, where they won victories in international painting competitions. For the first time in the history of Ukraine, Yaryna`s works selected by the jury of the Design and Watercolor Salon (2017-2018) were exhibited at the Grand Palais National Museum in Paris, the Autumn Salon of Latin America (2016), Sao Paulo, Brazil. Exhibited at the largest art exhibition in the world, Art expo New-York and Miami Art Week, including others. Solo exhibitions were exhibited in the National Museum of Ukraine named after A. Sheptytskyi, Taras Shevchenko National Museum in Kyiv, Lviv National Art Gallery named after B.Woznytskyi and others. Works are kept in private and museum collections of Ukraine and the world. Artist statement As an artist, I believe that art is a positive-energy system that heals and uplifts and does not ignore people's problems. I strive to create ethereal and sonorous strokes that capture the elusive amorphous moment and invite viewers to reflect on self-healing. Through my art, I hope to expand the audience's awareness that human life is short, and it is essential to create beauty every moment to live as if it were the last. My art has been a tool of Ukrainian culture diplomacy. For the first time in the history of the country Ukrainian works were selected by the jury of the Design and Watercolor Salon (2017–2018) to be shown at the Grand Palais National Museum in Paris, where it was my works that were selected and exhibited. Further I exhibited at the Autumn Salon of Latin America (2016) in São Paulo, Brazil. I have also exhibited at the largest art exhibition in the world, Art Expo New York (2017), and represented the series entitled “Ukrainian Identity”. In addition, I am the recipient of the Honoured Artist of Ukraine award, given to me by the President of Ukraine in 2017. My artwork draws inspiration from the natural beauty of the world, philosophical texts, Ukrainian identity and have been incorporating findings of my own theoretical searches for identity and memory. My paintings feature Ukrainian symbols referencing many periods in history in an abstract style utilizing colours generally with warm tones. Within this context I explore themes of life, death, good and evil, peace, equality, mutual understanding, harmony, catharsis, and memory. Beyond this, I also create realistic architectural landscapes that connect the identity of society, landscape, depicting the memory of the city. Recently, I moved to Toronto. With every stroke, I aim to create art that is bears goodness and light. I believe that every moment is unique and can never happen again, and every lost life is irreversible. Therefore, I hope that my art, within the brevity of time, can offer a moment of reflection and self-healing for the viewer. Let us save memory, stop violence, and end war.