Mazepa, Halyna

Mazepa, Halyna [Мазепа, Галина], b 9 February 1910 in Saint Petersburg, d 27 June 1995 in Caracas, Venezuela. Ukrainian modernist painter, graphic artist, and ceramist; daughter of Isaak Mazepa. From 1923 she lived in Prague, where she studied at the Ukrainian Studio of Plastic Arts, the School of Applied Art (1929–35), and the Academy of Arts. In the 1930s she began painting; illustrating Czech and Ukrainian books, magazines and postcards; and designing theatrical and ballet costumes. In 1947 she resettled in Caracas. Her first solo exhibition was held there in 1948. While working as an animator and as an illustrator for Venezuelan magazines (eg, Tricolor) and the publishing house of the Venezuelan Ministry of Education, she devoted her spare time to painting, ceramics, and creating illustrations for Ukrainian books. For her ceramic icon of the Holy Protectress she received a national prize in 1956. Her first solo show in the United States of America was held in New York in 1970. Her distinctive work is noted for its iconlike simplicity of line and composition and flat planes, gentle stylization, and vibrant, contrasting colors. Many of her paintings and drawings depict female figures and deal with Ukrainian historical, folkloric, or literary themes (eg, Taras Shevchenko’s poems). An album of her works was published in Munich by the Ukrainian Free University in 1982.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).]