Yevhen Klymenko.
Painting as the tangible memory of space, architecture, and human presence.
- Practice
- Painting · drawing · ceramics
- Education
- NAOMA · KSADA
- Studio
- Kyiv, Ukraine
For Klymenko, a canvas is not a plane but a body that accumulates light, time, and the memory of place.
Art critics and curators note the genetic kinship of Klymenko’s painterly idiom with the Ukrainian Transavantgarde and Oleg Golosiy’s atmospheric weight. In his practice, monumental canvas operates as an architectural portal between physical room space and psychological dream depths.
“Art must emerge from within the human being, from the heart, from the spirit — only then is it authentic. Most of my paintings stem from dreams. Easel painting preserves raw interior experience without counterfeit ornamentation.”
Methodology & The Easel Gesture
Yevhen Klymenko’s painting practice is anchored in the dialogue between rigorous tectonic architecture and raw impasto expression. He approaches monumental canvas not as an illustrative flat plane, but as a physical body that accumulates paint density, ocular tension, and temporal stratification.
Each canvas progresses from an intuitive nocturnal drawing to elaborate chromatic glazes. Hues of emerald, vermilion, terracotta, and lamp black create an optical depth into which the viewer steps physically.
Three Material Disciplines
The artistic practice spans three interconnected media: monumental oil painting, works-on-paper drawing, and spatial ceramics.
Monumental Painting
Large-format linen canvas, classical gesso preparation, high-density oil pigments. Architectural volumes structured through vibrating impasto.
Graphic Journal
Charcoal, graphite, ink on archival paper. Frontline artistic journalism documenting wartime reality across Kharkiv, Izyum, and Borodyanka.
Spatial Ceramics & Tactile Form
Terracotta, grog clay, optical glazes. Uniting painterly vision with three-dimensional sculpture in collaboration with artist Liliia Butenko ('Inner Landscape'). Tactile forms enter into dialogue with monumental canvases.
Chronology & Heritage
The trajectory from classical academic rigor to mature easel painting and museum retrospectives.
'Inner Landscape' · Lavra Municipal Gallery (Kyiv)
Collaborative spatial exhibition uniting monumental easel painting and ceramic sculpture. Performance and curatorial concept exploring contemporary interior psychological cartography.
Harper's Bazaar Ukraine Monograph Interview
Programmatic feature interview 'Art Department: Behind the Scenes of Contemporary Art' exploring oneiric catalysts in painting, easel traditions, and wartime creation.
Museum Survey 'HOW ARE YOU?' (UMCA & Ukrainian House)
Inclusion in the landmark museum survey of contemporary Ukrainian wartime art. Exhibited masterworks 'Kikimora' and 'Wounded Soldier'.
'Architect of the Galaxy' · National Museum Kyiv Picture Gallery
Solo exhibition of monumental canvases in the halls of Ukraine's leading art museum. Investigation of cosmogonic geometry and spatial portals.
National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture (NAOMA)
Studio of monumental and easel painting (Kyiv). Master of Fine Arts degree. Defense of monumental diploma cycle.
Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts (KSADA)
Faculty of easel painting (Kharkiv). Bachelor of Fine Arts. Classical academic training in human anatomy, composition, and color theory.
Complete Archive of Exhibitions & Museum Surveys
The Studio Chamber & Living Process
Material Space & The Painting Process
Portrait of Mykhaylo Semenko
Kyiv studio on Saksahanskoho. The wall records dates and verses of the Ukrainian futurist.
Nocturnal Canvas in Progress
Layering ultramarine and vermilion glazes under natural studio daylight.
Graphic Spread on Floor
Wartime field drawings in ink and sauce crayon laid out for museum survey review.
Monumental Canvas & Studio Ladder
Executing canvases over two meters in height demands total physical embodiment with the plane.
Palette Table & Pigments
Studio workbench with oil tubes, mineral spirits, and preparatory sketch for Kyiv 'Metro' cycle.
Brick Wall with 'Stars'
Authentic artist inscription in oil directly on the studio brick wall framing the canvas.