Pereyma, Aka

Pereyma, Aka or Armenia Bohumyla [Перейма, Ака; Perejma; née Klym], b 30 September 1927 in Siedlce, Poland, d 9 December 2013 in Troy, Ohio, USA. Ukrainian sculptor and painter. A postwar refugee in the United States of America since 1949, she completed her studies at the Chicago Institute of Art (1963–4) and the Dayton Institute of Art (1966). A versatile artist, she won recognition for her metal and wood sculptures, ceramics, oils, watercolors, Easter eggs, and ink drawings. She created abstract geometric sculptures (eg, Hetman and Slave) and abstract ‘birds’ (eg, Omega). The forms and ornamentation of her ceramic creations are influenced strongly by Ukrainian folk art. Much of her painting is inspired by folk motifs (eg, the watercolor series ‘Songs’), and the egg form frequently plays a prominent role (eg, Windmill). Solo shows of her works were held in various cities of Ohio, as well as in Chicago, New York, Buffalo, Toronto, Kyiv, and Lviv. A 25-year retrospective exhibition was held in Oxford, Ohio, in 1986.

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