Vasyl Anatoliyovych Korkishko
Poltava is a free-wheeling space, with the boundless sky, the sun, and grass, it is literally God's grace.
Precious lands. Ukrainian wealth.
Here, in 1961, Vasyl Korkishko was born. From there he went to Kharkiv to study at the Art College.
There in 1985, he graduated from the Kharkiv Art and Industry Institute.
Upon completion, the young artist immersed himself in work. This period is characterized by an
abundance of graphic works where one may have already seen a bright talent, independence and
originality of the artistic attitude. It should be noted a series of etchings named "Memory" (1988), and
dedicated to The Great Patriotic War. The plane sheet is divided horizontally into two parts. The upper
part is a memory of the past, and the bottom is today. Trees are the living witnesses of the present and
the past. In the difficult war years, even tree branches were an obstacle, turning into a barbed wire. An
empty frame indicates the unrealized plan - a painting or a piece of music. Death notices were flying like
leaves, even in a peaceful post-war period. Mothers, who bore the brunt, hardship and deprivation, are
the living witnesses of that time. Even the blooming tree is perceived in a different way.
Graphics for Korkishko is the cornerstone. He achieves extraordinary execution thoroughness and
accuracy, some fragments of which one may want to see in the magnifier. For the artist, it is not an end
in itself, but the desire to portray, to transfer all the amazing richness of the material world and its
texture. Filigree hatch here is like a stroke for a scenic painter. This original, unconsciously inherent for
Korkishko identification of drawing with painting determines the ratio of the background in a special
way, it is left clean and white in the painting, and only occasionally faintly tinted. His background never
looks dead, dull surface, creating not only a visual but also a spiritual space where you may find invisibly
present thoughts and feelings of the artist. There is no center and no periphery in his paintings. Or
everything is center and periphery? - Yes! He thinks so. He believes that art is love. All that captured by
the loving gaze of the artist, is transformed into a jewel. Carefully traced villus turns into a scene of love
and, therefore, becomes important. The artist paints what excites his soul, and what is consonant with
his inner state. He philosophically reflects on the tragic aspects of people’s life in these circumstances,
their intransigence, the desire not to talk, but to ring the tocsin until you awake!
Vasyl Korkishko carries out a number of successful exhibitions and in 1990, he became a member of the
USSR Union of Artists.
The master feels confined in the graphics framework, and he turns to the creation of complex pictorial
compositions: "73", "Where do we..." The author lit seventy-three commemorative candles in
remembrance of what has been destroyed in the seventy-three years: a centuries-old culture which
remained only as fragments of the Assumption Church and Christ the Savior Cathedral in the dark, icy
night; the gunned down family of the last Russian monarch. A white pigeon is flying around, bringing us
good news of the revival. The social and political exigencies of the day permeate the content of a large
canvas "Where do we ..." Unnecessary artificial values are burning and disappearing. The horizon is
becoming clear with a blue sky looking through.
A significant place in Korkishko’s works is taken by landscapes. His landscapes express a special reverent
feeling of the artist towards nature. His is attracted by its subtle states, which consistently give the
landscape new content. His landscapes are lyrical, touching the heart by poetic motifs, and heartfelt
color composition. The movement of the soul is felt in each of his works.
In his still-lifes and bouquets, the artist not only admires the splendor of roses, but he is able to feel and
convey the beauty of a simple wild flower; every blade of grass looks as if it "turns" to the audience,
demonstrating its grace and harmony. Careful transfer of details up to the vein fixed on a butterfly wing,
a drop of dew on the surface - all this is combined with a decorative effect in the painting.
Following the career path of Vasyl Korkishko, one cannot ignore his commitment to search and
dedication to his work. Double dates indicate that the paintings were created over a long period of time.
We can talk a lot about this artist, but his main difference is not the search for easy victories in the arts,
but everyday work - joyful as well as painful.
We always say about such people: "He is assisted by a temple built in his soul."
Today, Vasyl Korkishko, a member of the Union of Artists of Ukraine, lives and works in Dnipropetrovsk.
He is full of ambitious creative ideas and plans. Ahead he has a lot of work, and ahead there is life.
People's Artist of Ukraine Petro Magro