Vyrsta, Temistokl

Vyrsta, Temistokl [Вирста, Темістокл; Wirsta, Themistocle], b 15 October 1923 in Ispas, Bukovyna, d 13 May 2017 in Paris. Painter; brother of Arystyd Vyrsta. He studied architecture at the Royal Academy in Bucharest and art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris. A postwar refugee, since 1950 he has lived in France, in Paris, where he worked as an architect until the late 1950s. His early paintings were figurative. Later he became a lyrical expressionist, stressing color rather than form or composition, and ultimately he evolved into an abstractionist. Some of his works depict imaginary landscapes and flowers and employ various light effects. Solo exhibitions of his works have been held in Paris (1959), Bern, Switzerland (1964), Ancona, Italy (1967), Montreal (1970), Detroit (1970), New York (1982), and Toronto (1982). An album of his works was published in Paris in 1975.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5 (1993).]