Patyk, Volodymyr

Patyk, Volodymyr [Патик, Володимир], b 9 October 1926 in Chornyi Ostriv, Bibrka county, Galicia, d 28 August 2016 in Lviv. Painter and muralist. A graduate of the Lviv Institute of Applied and Decorative Art (1953), where he studies under Roman Selsky, Yosyp Bokshai, and others, he later worked in Lviv. In the 1960s he incorporated ethnographic themes and elements into paintings such as Korovai (1964) and Girl from Bukovyna (1966). Although most of his work is figurative, he has painted several canvases using Easter egg symbols as the basis of the compositions. Patyk is best known for his expressionist landscapes painted energetically in brilliant, high-intensity colors that convey his emotional response to nature and love of his homeland. The Green Carpathians (1970) and Autumn in the Carpathians (1986) are examples of the many paintings of the Carpathian Mountains created by the artist. Patyk has also painted thematic canvases, such as Dovbush—Our Glory (1967) and the funereal The Last Journey (1987), in which he used a dark, brooding palette in keeping with the subject. In 1999 he was awarded the Shevchenko Prize.

[This article was updated in 2018.]