Landscape 1959

Valerii Lamakh created this striking oil painting titled “Landscape”, and it offers us a glimpse into Ukrainian art of the mid-20th century. Lamakh lived through many formative events in Ukrainian history, including World War II and the post-Stalin cultural changes. You can see how his painting transcends traditional landscape art through its use of bold colors and geometric forms. The shapes suggest buildings, foliage, and sky, but the composition transforms the conventional into something more abstract, more felt. This approach reflects a broader movement within the Soviet Bloc, where artists navigated the restrictions of socialist realism to explore more personal, avant-garde modes of expression. Consider how Lamakh uses color and form to evoke a sense of place while also perhaps commenting on themes of identity, home, and belonging within a changing geopolitical landscape. It is a landscape that seems both familiar and dreamlike, reflecting the complex interplay between personal experience and political context.