Khmeliuk, Vasyl

Khmeliuk, Vasyl [Хмелюк, Василь; Xmeljuk, Vasyl'; Khmeluk, Vassyl], b 31 July 1903 in Cherniatyn, Volhynia gubernia, d 2 November 1986 in Paris. Postimpressionist painter and avant-garde poet. He studied art at the Cracow Academy of Arts and at the Ukrainian Studio of Plastic Arts in Prague. In 1928 he settled in Paris, where his work attracted the attention of prominent collectors, such as A. Vollard and S. Shchukin, and appeared at well-known galleries. In the 1930s his paintings were exhibited also in England, Italy, and Switzerland. From 1943 he was associated with the Durand-Ruel Gallery, which organized exhibitions for him in Paris, New York, and other cities. His works, done in strong contrasting colors, include paintings of flowers, still lifes, landscapes, and portraits. They can be found in museums in Paris, London, Stockholm, Lviv, and Lucerne, in the collection of Oxford University, and in private collections. Three collections of Khmeliuk’s experimental poetry were published in Prague: Hin (Instinct, 1926), Osinnie sontse (The Autumn Sun, 1928), and 1926, 1928, 1923 (1928).

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 2 (1988).]