Special exhibition: “ANCIENT TRYPILLIA: SEVEN THOUSAND YEARS OF SPIRITUAL ART,” to be held in the Ukrainian Institute of America from August 20 through September 20, 2010.

The Fund for Research of Ancient Civilizations is bringing to public attention selected examples of Trypillian culture, artifacts from the Ukrainian Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and from the Regional Museum of Borshchiv, Ukraine. The exhibition consists of 100 high-resolution photographs and 10 holograms of ancient Trypillian artifacts, surrounded by brilliant works of contemporary and folk art inspired by them. These are artists' interpretations of a culture from more than 7,000 years ago. The visual symbolism of this first agricultural society, found throughout central Ukraine, has become the core of today's Ukrainian visual identity. Whether in embroidery, ceramics, ‘pysanky’, or other expressions of visual culture, these motifs represent the forces of nature, and their beliefs have inspired and excited artists and artisans through the ages with their potent symbolism. Today's artists, represented in private and public collections, engage in this visual language, and offer the onlooker a window into the far-distant past, and a future dream.

Among the exhibited works are drawings and paintings by the legendary Taras Shevchenko, by the archaeologist/discoverer of Trypillia, Vikenty Khvoika, and by contemporary artists, Yury Kamyshny, and Volodymyr Balas. The famous artist Aleksander Archipenko, Zlatko Paunov, Ivan Bratko, Sofia Shatkivska are represented by sculptures. Also inspired by the ancient ceramic designs are ceramicists Natalia Kormeluk, Myron Bokalo, and Lyudmila Smolyakova. Rounding out the exhibition are rich collections of folk dress of Anna Kulcyzcky, Vira Nakonechna, and the Shepko and Semerey Families, the ‘pysanky’ of Serhiy Borys, Vira Borys, and Olga Kolodij, and dolls by Valentyna Berdnyk.

This exhibition will be enriched by a series of lectures by key Ukrainian specialists in art history, philosophy and archeology: Mykhailo Videiko and Natalia Burdo, Institute of Archeology; and Anatoly Kolodny and Lyudmila Fylypovych, Institute of Philosophy. Documentary films, live musical performances, and workshops complete the special events and public programming.