PEV, UKRAINE AND FINDING THE TREE OF LIFE
By Ann Glusker, soprano
Serving on the PEV programming committee is a fascinating experience. It’s much more than just picking a delightful collection of songs to sing. The committee digs into potential themes for a concert and how visual arts, the news, historical trends, the natural environment and more may fit into what we want to share with our audiences. Behind each concert is a deep and wide exploration of many worlds.
Most recently, I was fortunate to be involved with the planning for our “Journey to Peace” concerts in December. We wanted to examine the lives and work of women artists and musicians from Eastern Europe, and I was charged with research. For the music, I was lucky to have generous in-depth guidance from Heather MacLaughlin Garbes, director of Seattle’s Mägi Ensemble, named for composer Ester Mägi, “First Lady of Estonian music.” We also benefited from the amazing work of local ensemble Kitka, the women’s vocal arts ensemble inspired by traditional songs and vocal techniques from Eastern Europe and Eurasia.
For visual art, I stumbled around the internet and then came upon one of the most ravishing paintings I have ever seen – Tree of Life by Ukrainian artist Olga Kovtun.
At the next programming committee meeting, I couldn’t contain my excitement. “Isn’t this amazing?!” I said. “Can we try to present it as part of the concert?” Of course, Ash and the rest of the committee were on board.
Next thing was to contact Olga herself. I found her through social media, and our conversation was heartfelt and poignant. Soon after the Russian invasion, Olga fled Ukraine with her young daughter and was living in Montenegro. She was building on the international audience for her work, which we were glad to support and gained her permission to incorporate “Tree of Life” into our concerts. Olga has since returned to Ukraine, where her heart is, even though life there can be challenging. She writes, “I love my space, I love my work, I love my routine.” You can see her process and her amazing painting in the video here.
Olga provided the bio and artist’s statement below and asked us to share it with you. It makes clear the path of her professional accomplishments and her connection both to her art and to Ukraine. You can follow Olga on Facebook and Instagram, and we are all sure to be seeing more of her work in future! PEV is so proud to be part of getting the word out about this wonderful artist and her work!
Olga Kovtun is a Ukrainian artist. Born in 1983, she lives and works in Kyiv. Her passion for fine arts brought her to the State Art High School also known as the Shevchenko Art School. There she spent five years working toward her entry into The National Academy of Fine Art and Architecture in Kyiv, in 2002, where she joined the studio of Mykola Storozhenko, studying painting and iconographic art. She also worked with the renowned artist Serhiy Shyshko. She received The Scholarship of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (the parliament of Ukraine), and in 2008 she received her Master of Arts degree. Olga then started a post-master's internship in Storozhenko’s studio. Olga has been a full member of Ukrainian Union of Artists since 2010, having joined the young artists section some years earlier. In 2012 she won a grant from the President of Ukraine “as a young person involved in the fine-arts”, in 2015 she was the winner of the Kyiv Art Award in the field of fine arts, and in 2020 she was named a Merited Artist of Ukraine, awarded for outstanding contribution to the development of art. Olga's main areas of interest are monumental and easel painting, including sacred and iconographic painting. She has participated in a wide range of Ukrainian and international exhibitions, and her artworks can be found in private collections in Ukraine, Poland, Georgia, Russia, Germany, France, USA, Iceland and Spain.
Olga writes:
"In my work I try to embrace the traditions of Ukrainian Baroque art and baroque religious art generally. My fascination with this amazing period, which I developed while still studying at the Academy, was the impetus for my further creative activity. I have always been interested in combining the traditions of European Renaissance culture and the aesthetics of Dutch painting with the traditions of the Ukrainian Baroque. My art tends to portraits, which allows me to pay close attention to form and convey the full depth of expression of the eyes. Eyes for me are the most important thing in my imagery."
And, about her painting Tree of Life:
"My use of the tree of life was not accidental, as it symbolizes the harmony between the universe and human life as it manifests in the heavens, earth and underworld. In many cultures throughout the world, the Tree of Life appears in folk art talismans, symbolizing this harmonic union between humanity and the universe, combining time and space, life and death. In Ukrainian art, one often sees this stupendous tree in full, luxurious flower, decorating table runners, painted Easter eggs and wall murals. In my work, the young woman with almost closed eyes and carefully clasped hands seems frozen in the moment. Her raiment, dissolved in embroidered ornament, imbues her with the healing energy she gets from her connection with our ancestors.”