Sacred Images in the Creative Visions of Kharkiv Painter Valentyn Hrytsanenko

Abstract

The article examines a little-studied aspect of the creative legacy of Valentyn Hrytsanenko (1945–2022) – an Honored Artist of Ukraine, culturologist, and member of the art group Burime – focusing on his original artistic interpretations of sacred themes. At the core of the study lies the artist’s reimagining of biblical narratives and Christian symbolism within the broader framework of contemporary Ukrainian art. The origins of Hrytsanenko’s artistic vision are traced to his childhood environment, aesthetic preferences, and fascination with monuments of material culture, and collecting practices, all of which contributed to the development of a heightened sensitivity to texture, symbolism, and the plasticity of artistic forms. It is emphasized that an important factor in shaping the artist’s worldview was his pilgrimages to sacred places, which inspired him to create landscapes imbued with expressive sacral symbolism. Hrytsanenko’s painting practices acquired the character of a meditative ritual, reminiscent of the experience of icon painting yet liberated from strict canonical constraints. For the artist, the act of painting became a process of spiritual self-immersion and the search for a personal harmonious intonation. Based on the analysis of selected paintings, the study identifies the specific features of Hrytsanenko’s individual style – one developed outside the framework of formal academic art education and combining elements of hyperrealism, metaphysical landscape, and symbolism. This synthesis enabled the artist to create a distinctive pictorial atmosphere in which biblical motifs received new interpretations. The article highlights his original use of color (particularly ochre and golden tones), calligraphic inscriptions, and biblical artifacts that together form a new visual language – one that echoes the intonation of icon painting while remaining free from canonical closure. In this context, sacred imagery is considered a key to understanding the philosophical depth of Hrytsanenko’s artistic vision, in which the real and the transcendent, the visible and the invisible, are harmoniously united. The study emphasizes the need for further research into the sacred dimension of Hrytsanenko’s art – a topic that has not yet been the subject of focused art-historical inquiry but holds significant importance for understanding current processes in contemporary Ukrainian art.