Solitude on the Lake, 33x23, oil on canvas, BY Nestor Kyzenko
Nestor Kyzenko was born in 1925 in the hamlet of Bizh in northeastern Ukraine. As a young goatherd, he had ample opportunity to experienced and absorb the natural beauty of his native land. After surviving the terrible famine of the 1930’s, which killed millions of his countrymen, sixteen-year-old Kyzenko was sent to do forced labor in Germany during the Second World War. At the war’s end, he served for twelve years with the Soviet Army, first in Bulgaria and later in the Caucasus Mountains, where he attended the Art Academy of Georgia under his commander’s patronage. There, he studied under the Leningrad exiles Vasyl Shuhaiev and Kakabadze, an ex-Parisian resident. Returning home to Ukraine in 1956 after thirteen years of absence, Kyzenko painted interminably while teaching art classes to children.
Kyzenko's style combines a traditional approach to landscape painting with the principal features of folk art. Known for the evocative and dreamlike manner of his color schemes, the artist’s work reflects his own romantic and poetic nature. His landscapes, in particular, can be compared to similar works by 19th century Ukrainian masters like S. Vasylkivsky, P. Levchenko, and S. Svitoslavsky. His work can be found in numerous private and public collections around the world.
Artworks of Nestor Kyzenko have been published in ContempoARTukraine magazine, a quaterly publication featuring contemporary Ukrainian artists.
Price: $930
