DANA PEREVALSKA RIACHI, MYROSLAVA PEREVALSKA PSHENYCHNA, SASHA PSHENYCHNA
The priceless gift we all get when we’re born is speech and our ability to communicate with each other. What a person hears first is their mother’s voice. The first songs we hear are lullabies. Speaking and singing are the oldest forms of communication, which help us discover the depth and greatness of our culture. The longer a people lives on its land, the richer its traditions are: ritual songs passed down from generation to generation, together with language and writing, become our shield, and the gift of live communication—from voice to voice—is carried by us as the code of the nation.
Ukrainian Folk Love Songs is a publication that includes 25 Ukrainian folk songs and 25 woodcuts by the renowned Ukrainian graphic artist Vasyl Perevalskyi, created in 1967–1968 specifically for this collection. In 1971, the Mystetstvo publishing house released the first edition of the book. Following its release, due to accusations of formalism and “bourgeois nationalism,” the author was barred from working with folk song topics for over a decade. Despite that, the publication became a striking example of the lyrical visual language of the 1960s and eventually turned into a rare antique.
More than five decades later, the artist’s family is presenting the book in a new form—as a contemporary interpretation of one of the key works of Ukrainian book graphics of the 20th century. The exhibition reveals its context, the story of its creation, and the artist’s journey as he sought answers to complex questions during a time when people were forced to keep silent. The display includes originals from the family archive: woodcuts and prints.
In dedication to our grandfather and great-grandfather, Yevdokym Perevalskyi, who was arrested in 1938 and executed in 1941, and to his wife Olena, who remained faithful to him. We hope they can see and hear us all—and that they are flying with us on the wings of these songs.
Each love song ever sung is someone’s destiny.
Curated by:
- Dana Perevalska Riachi, the project’s founding curator, lives and works in London, UK. She works with cultural and exhibition initiatives, as well as private collections of Ukrainian and world art.
- Myroslava Perevalska Pshenychna, co-curator and compiler of the publication, fine artist. She lives and works in Kyiv, lecturing at the Publishing and Printing Institute, NTUU “Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, as well as creating and implementing art projects.
Book design and prepress:
- Sasha Pshenychna, a Ukrainian graphic designer and illustrator, lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Originally from Kyiv, she received her education at universities in Ukraine, Germany, and Switzerland. Her main focus is on the cultural sector, particularly book design and educational activities with children.