Karlo Zvirynskyi

Karlo Zvirynskyi (1923-1997) — was a Ukrainian modernist artist and a reformer of art education. During the totalitarian Soviet regime, he created a distinctive alternative art movement within late modernism. His work combines a deep study of ancient art, modernist experiments, and spiritual syncretism, expressed through abstraction.

The painting «Crimea 3» represents his transition to an abstract-expressive style. The composition is built on the interaction of color masses, tonal transitions, and dynamic forms, conveying the atmosphere of a place through inner perception. It is not a literal depiction of a landscape but rather a philosophical interpretation, where space is constructed through the interplay of light, shadow, and color.

The late 1950s marked a crucial stage in Zvirynskyi's artistic journey, during which he moved away from a naturalistic representation of nature in favor of its symbolic and emotional interpretation. During this period, he founded an underground school for young artists, known as «the "Zvirynskyi’s Underground Academy."». Його роботи цього періоду — це не просто пейзажі, а роздуми про структуру світу, взаємодію кольору та емоційного сприйняття.