On January 6th, a solo exhibition by the renowned sculptor Tetiana Albitska-Kostomarova will be opening at the Kharkiv Municipal Gallery. Tetiana has been a long-time friend of the gallery, as she participated in a group project during the NonStopMedia-II festival back in 2004 when she was a student at Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts.

Now, the gallery presents a personal project dedicated to Tetiana’s 25th anniversary of her artistic career. The exhibition will feature both well-known small-scale sculptural compositions and monumental works, some of which will be showcased for the first time.

The key theme of Tetiana’s artistic exploration is the image of a “woman” embracing herself and harmonizing with the surrounding world. Her sculptures are distinct with their expressive silhouettes, elegance, innovative approach, and extraordinary plastic concept. Her women do not seek to prove anything to anyone. With closed eyes, they radiate fulfillment and tranquility. The female figures sculpted by Tetiana do not conform to the widely accepted canons of beauty in the modern world; instead, they simply exist in the present moment. They reside in that infamous moment that psychologists, life coaches, and esotericists speak so fervently about—a moment we can only dream of. Each of us carries our own fears, which assail us constantly, separating us from the happiness of fully enjoying the joy of being in our bodies, simply feeling, simply loving, simply living!

Tetiana’s search for artistic identity has been a long journey that began during her student years. During that time, she explored the sculptural representation of women in the era of the “Goddess Civilization,” where Paleolithic and Neolithic symbols and images are connected with the self-generation of the Goddess and her functions as the “giver” of life and a source of fertility. It was during this period that she created the monumental work “The Bride, the Messenger of News,” which is now preserved at the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts. However, Tetiana’s truly distinctive style as a sculptor emerged after the birth of her son. It was then that works such as “June,” “Disillusionment,” “Apple Spas,” “Trinity,” and a series of ten small sculptures forming the “Necklace” came to life. These works fully reveal her high degree of artistic generalization, vivid individual vision, refined modeling of volume, lyricism, subtle humor, and extraordinary joyfulness.

Tetiana Albitska-Kostomarova is a laureate of Ukrainian and international exhibitions, competitions, and festivals of sculpture. Her works are held in private collections in Ukraine, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, and the USA.

Art critic Maria Manuilenko.