Vasyl Ponikarov

Vasyl Ponikarov (Василь Андрійович Понікаров; Василий Андреевич Поникаров; 26 August 1929 – 16 May 2014) was a Soviet and Ukrainian artist, member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (1971).

Biography
Vasyl Ponikarov was born on 26 August 1929 in the village Dolynske of Ananiv Raion of Odesa Oblast (Ukraine). His childhood coincided with the years of the Second World War. After seven years of schooling, he left his native village. After the end of the war Vasyl continued his studies firstly in the A.S. Makarenko Tiraspol Pedagogical College (1947–1948), lately in the M.B. Grekov Odesa Art school (1949–1958).

In the Art school his pedagogues were, , L.O. Tokareva-Aleksandrovych. Leonid Ovsiiovych Muchnyk while getting acquainted with the works of Vasyl advised him: "You should to paint in watercolor. As I think, it's yours".

Ponikarov was called up for military service after the first course in the Art school. He was doing his military service in Yevpatoria. The military base where Vasyl was in the service appreciated a talent of young artist by entrusting to his charge all visual agitation (leaflets, placards). His gift and high appreciation of his effort as an artist culminated in increase of a duration of military service. Vasyl Ponikarov served longer than needed – three and one half years instead of three years. After the demobilisation Vasyl continued his studies within the walls of the same Art school in Odesa.

Three years after graduation from the Art school Vasyl Ponikarov becomes a student of Moscow Polygraphic Institute (1961–1970). Over this years his pedagogues were Y.K. Burdzhelyan, B.A. Sholokhov, G.T. Goroshchenko. Entering of Vasyl into the Artists' Union of the USSR (1971) was recommended by, , A.L. Yakovlev who remarked considerable growth of mastery of the artist after graduation from the Institute. Background of Vasyl Ponikarov already consisted of art works that had been exposed in all of the USSR.

From 1980 onwards Vasyl Ponikarov painted on journeys on the ocean liner "Fedor Shalyapin", where he served as a staff artist. Like so, the paintings were made, those on which the artist pictured what he saw in Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Egypt, and Germany.

Works
Landscape painting and still life were genres Ponikarov gave preference to. He painted using the wet-on-wet technique in watercolor on the premoistened paper that deprived dabs of paint of hardness. The artist painted in transparent watercolor, he didn't combine watercolor with other techniques and precluded the use of white paint (titanium dioxide PW6 or zinc oxide PW4) to obtain white color. White color is unpainted paper.

Many of Ponikarov landscape paintings pictured Odesa and its environs since almost all his life was connected with this region. Examples of those works: «Arcadia» (1984), «In Odesa Courtyard» (1984), «Winter on the Big Fountain» (1986), «Odesa. Proletarian boulevard» (1986), «Ilyichyovsk. Lighthouse» (1986). However, Vasyl created a good many of his watercolor paintings on his journeys across Soviet republics and abroad: «Dombay» (1972), «Karelian pines» (1975), «Lake in Sedniv» (1980), «Caucasian birches» (1981), «Rozluch. Carpathians» (1983), «Holosiivo. Ponds» (1984), «Vylkovo» (1987). On journeys that served him as a source of new impressions artworks cycles like «Ancient monuments», «Channel Dnepr-Donbass», «Pushkin reserve», «In Gurzuf» were painted. Cycles of art works painted abroad contain images of Paris, Rome, London, Prague, Barcelona, Budapest, Istanbul, Jerusalem and Cairo.

In landscape painting the artist was giving pride of place to generous gifts of the South of Ukraine – juicy, mature vegetables and fruits, vivid flowers. Watercolors of flowers united in series brought him great success. As a "King of flowers and emperor of sunflowers" a fine art expert from Alexandria M. Sheryf named Vasyl. Vasyl Andriiovych worked often and incessantly on floral compositions by moving up images to the frames of pictures, by approaching images as much as possible to spectators. He pictured flowers in contourless sketchy manner that makes possible to reproduce flowering, rustle, smell.

As a rule, Vasyl Ponikarov worked on location finishing a watercolor painting in one session. Often he turned to work without planning it in advance. For example, departing somewhere on his car, Vasyl could pull up in the middle of the flowering field and turn to paint. Vasyl Andriiovych by creating several sheets a day for a half of century of his creative activity pictured tens of thousands of artworks that dispersed around the world. Ponikarov in Iryna Tymokhova (a fine art expert) opinion is one of the most productive artists. In this regard on the pages of news paper "Vechirnia Odesa" Iryna Tymokhova compared the artist with I.K. Aivazovsky.

Awards

 * 1998 – Master of watercolor, diploma of the program "Gold Masters of Odesa", Odesa
 * 1998 – Grand prix of Montgermont watercolor salon, commune Montgermont, France
 * 2002 – Winner in nomination "Artist of the year" in the competition "National recognition", Odesa
 * 2005 – Participant of the Watercolor Fair of Belgium, certificate of participant, Namur, Belgium
 * 2005 – Honoured Artist of Ukraine, state title
 * 2007 – Laureate of the contest "Your names, Odesa!" in nomination "The best works of fine art (graphics)"
 * 2012 – Laureate of the contest "Diamond Duke", diploma of the laureate of the contest "Diamond Duke" named after De Richelieu in nomination "Painting, Graphics", project "Save and Protect", Odesa
 * 2014 – Participant of the exhibition "Light of harmony", diploma of participant, the exhibition which was held within the framework of the international project "World without borders", Moscow, Russia
 * Participant of the exhibition "Marinists of Odesa – dedicated to the day of Saint Nicholas", commendation, Odesa

Personal exhibitions

 * 1984 – Odesa
 * 1986 – Odesa
 * 1987 – Kyiv
 * 1999 – in the Museum of Western and Eastern Art, Odesa
 * 2002 – in the Odesa Art Museum
 * 2004 – in the gallery of the club "Windrose", Oberursel, Germany
 * 2005 – Oslo, Norway
 * 2006 – in the Art Salon of the Union of Artists, Odesa
 * 2008 – in the gallery of World-Wide Club of Odessites, Odesa
 * 2009 – on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of the artist, in the Museum of Western and Eastern Art, Odesa
 * 2010 – in the gallery "Sady Pobedy"("Сады Победы"), Odesa
 * 2011 – in the Museum of Western and Eastern Art, Odesa

Exhibitions of works of Odesa artists

 * 1969 – Szeged, Hungary
 * 1970 – Bulgaria
 * 1974 – Italy
 * 1974 – Exhibition "Odesa – Marseille", Italy
 * 1976 – Genoa, Italy
 * 1977 – Szeged, Hungary
 * 1977 – Bulgaria
 * 1977 – Baltimore, USA
 * 1980 – Szeged, Hungary
 * 1981 – Genoa, Italy
 * 1985 – Geneva, Switzerland
 * 1987 – Finland
 * 1990 – Genoa, Italy
 * 1991 – in the Soviet Fund of Culture, Moscow, Russia
 * 1992 – New-York, USA
 * 1992 – in the embassy of Japan, Moscow, Russia
 * 1993 – in "Russian center", Jerusalem, Israel
 * 1996 – Mexico

Exhibitions "Picturesque Ukraine"("Мальовнича Україна")

 * 2002 – Ukrainian House, Kyiv
 * 2003 – National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv
 * 2007 – National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv

Others

 * 1977 – Watercolor exhibition of Odesa artists, Bulgaria
 * 1982 – Exhibition "Contemporary art of Odesa", Genoa, Italy
 * 1997 – "Gold Masters of Odesa", Odesa Art Museum
 * 1997 – "Contemporary art of Ukraine", National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv
 * 1998 – Montgermont watercolor salon, commune Montgermont, France
 * 1999 – Exhibition of private collections of watercolors, Paris, France
 * 2000 – Exhibition of marinists. Marine gallery, Odesa
 * 2001 – Tregastel International watercolor salon, commune Tregastel, France
 * 2005 – Watercolor Fair of Belgium, Namur, Belgium
 * 2009 – Exhibition-cultural program "Art-alphabet or Odesa's Montmartre", Odesa
 * 2009 – Exhibition-project "Play of Color and Shape", г. Steinbach, Germany
 * 2010 – Traveling exhibition "The Traveler" ("Путешественница") devoted to the day of the land Hesse, Oberursel, Germany
 * 2014 – Exhibition "Light of harmony", international project "World without borders", Moscow, Russia

Exhibitions after the death of the artist

 * 2015 – Personal exhibition, International Forum Eurowoman 2015, in Tbilisi and in Batumi, Georgia
 * 2015 – On the occasion of celebration of the day of Odesa, art-project "Magnifique opéra", Odesa
 * 2015 – European forum of collectors, Kyiv
 * 2015 – Personal exhibition "Transparency of a flower"("Прозорість Квітки"), Art gallery of madam Palmgren, Lviv, Ukraine
 * 2016 – Personal exhibition in the gallery of World-Wide Club of Odessites, Odesa
 * 2016 – Personal exhibition, charitable auction, in the Museum of Western and Eastern Art, Odesa

In museums

 * Odesa Art Museum
 * Kharkiv Art Museum
 * Central State Archive-Museum of Literature and Arts of Ukraine, Kyiv
 * Mariupol museum of local lore
 * Pryluky museum of local lore
 * Izmail museum named after A.V. Suvorov
 * Ochakiv museum of marine art
 * Sharhorod folk museum
 * International watercolor museum, Fabriano, Italy

In public institutions

 * Odesa National A. V. Nezhdanova Academy of Music
 * , Kyiv
 * Kherson children's regional hospital
 * Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Otolaryngologyl
 * Kyiv sports boarding school
 * Rivne Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren
 * Rivne Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren

In galleries and private collections

 * Workshop of Vasyl Ponikarov, Odesa
 * Art collector Yves Mouden, Brest, France

Literature