Ivan Ostafiychuk ( 1940 - )

Born on July 28, 1940 in the village of Trostianets in the picturesque Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, Ivan Ostafiychuk took his early artistic inspiration from the work of his father and the rich cultural environment of the Hutsul region of Ukraine. In 1966 he graduated from the Lviv Institute of Applied and Decorative Art.
Ivan’s early professional career concentrated on printmaking and the graphic arts. His early linoprints reflect the popularity of folk arts among the Ukrainian artists of the 1960’s. Starting in 1963, Ostafiychuk participated regularly in regional, national and international exhibitions. His first solo exhibition was held at the prestigious Lviv Art Gallery in 1979, followed within a year by solo exhibitions in the cities of Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi. In 1980 Ostafiychuk was awarded the gold medal at the IX Biennale of Graphic Art in Brno, Czechoslovakia for his series of monotypes based on Ukrainian folk songs. Hutsul life and art have continued to captivate Ostafiychuk and have provided inspiration for much of his creativity to this very day.
In the spring of 1987, Ivan Ostafiychuk left Lviv for Yugoslavia and in January 1988 arrived in Toronto, Canada where he settled. Extremely successful solo exhibitions followed in Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto as well as in Cleveland, Rochester, New York, Detroit and Los Angeles. Early in 1993, Ivan and his musician wife Dzvinka returned to re-establish themselves in a dramatically changed homeland after a very successful solo exhibition in Paris. He continues to work in his beloved Lviv and in a recently built studio in the Carpathian mountains of Ukraine.
In 2001, Ivan returned to Paris to seek further inspiration for his work. During 2002, solo exhibits of his work were held in Toronto, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal. Solo exhibitions are scheduled in Chicago, New York and Lviv in 2003.
Painting on glass has a long history in world and Ukrainian art. Ivan Ostafiychuk’s paintings on glass appeared in the 1980’s alongside his paintings on paper and canvas. These works are inspired by motifs ranging from the religious through the folk arts and daily observations of contemporary life. The works exhibited at Calories in Saskatoon, Canada are the latest works to date in the continuing exploration of this medium by the artist.
The acrylic on paper paintings, referred to as the Paris series, reflect the artist’s impressions during his last visit to Paris in 2001. Beyond the thematic insights, each work demonstrates Ostafiychuk’s mastery of graphically expressive line and the use of a chromatically expressive and sophisticated palette.