LIUBOSLAV HUTSALIUK
Retrospective
October 23 through November 7, 1999
Sponsored by the Ukrainian Institute of America and D. Hoydysh Endowment for the Arts
Press Release: October 22, 1999
Liuboslav Hutsaliuk was born in Lviv in 1923 and early in his life decided to be an artist. Soon after graduating from the Cooper Union School of the Arts, he went to Paris, where he had his first exhibitions.
Throughout his 44 year career, Hutsaliuk has concentrated on expanding his lyrical expressionist interpretations of landscapes and cityscapes, remaining true to his aesthetic conviction that an artist has the duty to show what is best in life as well. His works depict a goal to strive for, instead of focusing, as do many others, on the causes of strife or remedies for it.
For the past twelve years, in spite of suffering two strokes, Hutsaliuk has not changed his basic philosophy. Still travelling to Europe, he sets down his perceptions of things as he would like them to be seen. His cityscapes, for instance, reinforce his conviction that large urban centers have an outer beauty and a positive side, despite prevalent civic malaise. A commonplace structure can share in beauty and serenity the same beauty to be found in his scenes or still-lifes.
Hutsaliuk's goals are long-term, and he does not seek immediate total change. Rather, he tries for a constant and growing feeling of optimism, underscored by the subtle nuances of the interplay of light and color.
This particular exhibit at the Ukrainian Institute of America features a wide range of his work, some for sale to the public and some from numerous private collections, ranging from the earliest period in France to recent works, as well as works shown for the first time, such as his series of gouaches, for instance. These will give the viewer an understanding of how Hutsaliuk expresses his philosophy through his work and display the development in styles and media.
Retrospective exhibit of work by Hutsaliuk opens at UIA
NEW YORK - The noted Ukrainian American artist Liuboslav Hutsaliuk, critically acclaimed in France and the United States as a foremost painter of urban landscapes, is the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Ukrainian Institute of America. The exhibit, which opened October 23, runs through November 7.
Titled "Liuboslav Hutsaliuk - Five Decades," the exhibit includes a selection of oil paintings, gouaches and watercolors featuring a wide range of the artist's work, ranging from his earliest period in France to recent works, as well as works from numerous private collections.
Throughout his 44-year career, Mr. Hutsaliuk has concentrated on expanding his lyrical expressionist interpretations of landscapes and cityscapes, especially those of Paris and New York.
The artist is perhaps best known for his bold and aggressive impasto technique, which blends with a lyric color perception, creating vibrant, yet harmonious, sun-drenched canvases - in both his landscapes and still lifes.
An artist who has divided his life between Paris and New York since 1955, Mr. Hutsaliuk has exhibited widely throughout Europe, in the United States, Canada and Japan.
Born in Lviv in 1923, Mr. Hutsaliuk studied art at The Cooper Union in New York, graduating in 1954. His first one-man show was held in Paris in 1956. Since then Mr. Hutsaliuk has had frequent one-man showings in Paris, at such galleries as Ror-Volmar (1956), Jacques Norval (1959), Angle du Faubourg (1963), Galérie Royale (1976); and Mairie du IV-ième Arrondissement (1979).
In New York solo-exhibits were held at the Boissevain (1957), Juster (1960; 1962), Hilde Gerst (1964, 1966), Ukrainian Association of Artists (1980), and the Toyamaya (1990) galleries; as well as in Milan at the Galleria Lorenzelli (1959), Galleria Romana in the Vatican (1963); in Boston at the Rolly-Michaux Gallery (1973); and the W&W (1962) and Focus (1977) galleries in Toronto.
Mr. Hutsaliuk was represented by the Toyamaya Gallery in Kobe, Japan, in 1992 and that same year a retrospective exhibit of his oils was held at the Springfield Museum of Art in Ohio.
The artist, who is a member of the Salon de L'Ecole de Paris, the Salon d'Automne, and the Salon des Indépendants and has taken part in their group exhibitions, was featured in articles in the Journal de l'Amateur d'Art, Revue Parlementaire, American Artist and Nihon Keizai Shimbun, among others.
Various reviews noted the following: "This urban landscape artist ... seems to inlay his colors into the canvas to give us cityscapes that haunt us with their new faces. He is a painter with a unique personality..."(Le Hors-Côté, 1959); "His paintings glow with light; the senses are amazed and excited by his marvelous color" (American Artist, 1969); "Hutsaliuk resuscitates for us the souls of cities. He makes us become geniunely passionate..." (Galérie Jardin des Arts, 1976); and finally, "... he wants to express the hope hidden within the shadows of reality ..." (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 1991).
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, October 24, 1999, No. 43, Vol. LXVII
OBITUARY
Liuboslav Hutsaliuk, Ukrainian-born artist who worked in New York and Paris
NEW YORK - Liuboslav Hutsaliuk, an artist known for his neo-impressionist oil paintings of cityscapes, landscapes and still lifes, died here on December 16.
Mr. Hutsaliuk was born on April 2, 1923, in Lviv. He was member of the Galicia (Halychyna) Division and was wounded in action during World War II.
Like tens of thousands of other Ukrainians, he found himself in displaced persons camps after the war. He emigrated to the United States in 1949 and settled in New York City, where he married Renata Kozicky in 1951. The couple had a son, Yarema.
Mr. Hutsaliuk began his art studies in Munich in 1946 and studied with the renowned Edward Kozak in his studio in Berchtesgaden in 1946-1949. He graduated from The Cooper Union School of Art in 1954 and later continued his studies at the Campanella Academy in Rome, where he received the silver medal in 1970.
Beginning in 1955 Mr. Hutsaliuk divided his time between the two art capitals of New York and Paris. His first major art exhibit was in 1956 in Paris. In subsequent years he had numerous one-man shows in Paris, Milan, New York, Boston, Toronto, Kobe, Japan, and elsewhere. His paintings may be found in art collections in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada and the United States.
He was critically acclaimed for his depictions of urban landscapes, particularly of New York and Paris, and was featured in articles in publications as diverse as Journal de l'Amateur d'Art, Revue Parlementaire, American Artist and Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
Reviewers noted his bold and aggressive impasto technique and a lyric color perception. "This urban landscape artist," wrote Le Hors-Cote in 1959, "seems to inlay his colors into the canvas to give us cityscapes that haunt us with their new faces." American Artist noted in 1969: "His paintings glow with lights; the senses are amazed and excited by his marvelous color."
In addition to painting, Mr. Hutsaliuk also worked in graphic arts, mainly in book publishing. His cartoons and caricatures often appeared in the well-known journal of satire and humor Lys Mykyta. As well, he was the author of art reviews published in such publications as the Svoboda daily newspaper and the journal Suchasnist.
He was a member of the Audubon Artists, La Societe Des Artistes Independants de Paris and the Ukrainian Artists' Association in the United States.
In 1990 Mr. Hutsaliuk suffered a stroke; he recovered, continuing to paint and exhibit his works.
One of his last large one-person shows was in 1999 at the Ukrainian Institute of America. Titled "Five Decades," the exhibit was a retrospective that showcased his oils, gouaches and watercolors.
This past October the editor of the Kyiv-based journal Obrazotvorche Mystetsvo, Mykola Marichevsky, visited with Mr. Hutsaliuk in New York and conducted an interview that is planned for publication in the spring in an issue devoted to artists of the Ukrainian diaspora.
Funeral services for Mr. Hutsaliuk were held on December 23 at St. Andrew's Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery in South Bound Brook, N.J. A final farewell was offered by Jurij Ferencevych on behalf of veterans of the Halychyna Division. The art community was represented by Zenko Onyshkewych.
Mr. Hutsaliuk was predeceased by his wife and son.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 28, 2003, No. 52, Vol. LXXI