Vasiliy Ryabchenko (born 1954 in Odessa, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian painter, graphic artist, photographer, author of objects and installations. One of the key artists in contemporary Ukrainian art and the New Ukrainian Wave. Vasiliy Ryabchenko was one of the first in Ukraine to start working in the installation genre. Since the early 1970s, the artist has also actively experimented with photography, which, subsequently, he uses in installations and collages, and also uses them as a material for paintings and creating digital graphics. He is also a founder of the Art Laboratory creative association.

Education

1983 | Ushinsky South Ukrainian Pedagogical University, art and graphic faculty, Odessa

1973 | Graduated from Grekov Odessa Art School, Odessa

Awards

1996 | Award and title «The best Artist of Ukraine» based on the results of the Kyiv

All-Ukrainian Art Festival «Golden Section».

Selected exhibitions:

2022 | Unfolding Landscapes / Kunst(Zeug)Haus, Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland

2022 | Unfolding Landscapes / Art & History Museum, Brussels, Belgium

2022 | Unfolding Landscapes / Art Centre Silkeborg Bad, Silkeborg, Denmark

2020 | Strange Time / Art Laboratory (online)

2019 | Contemporary Ukrainian Art of 1985-2015 / Modern Art Research Institute, Kyiv, Ukraine

2017 | Salon des Refusés / Museum of the Navy, Odessa, Ukraine

2017 | Cold Faith / Invogue Gallery, Odessa, Ukraine

2016 | The Spirit of Time / Zenko Art Foundation, Tatarov, Ukraine 

2016 | Recipe for Utopia / Modern Art Research Institute, Kyiv, Ukraine 

2016 | Dashing 90th / The Museum of Odessa Modern Art, Odessa, Ukraine

2016 | Ergo Sum. Self-portrait’s Exhibition / Dukat Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine

2016 | Three generations of Ukrainian artists in the Tatyana and Boris Grynyov collection / YermilovCentre, Kharkov, Ukraine

2015 | Enfant Terrible. Odessa conceptualism / National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
2015 | Museum Collection. Ukrainian Contemporary Art 1985-2015 / Art Arsenal, Kyiv, Ukraine

2015 | Make Art Not War / Voloshyn Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine
2015 | Make Art Not War / Tohni, Larnaca, Cyprus

2014 | Ukrainian landscape / Art Arsenal, Kyiv, Ukraine

2014 | Soap / Orbita Art Space, Odessa, Ukraine
2014 | Movie / Hudpromo Gallery, Odessa, Ukraine

2013 | Eastern Europe myths and legends / LWW Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland

2013 | Odessa School. Tradition and Currency / Artsvit Gallery, Dnepr, Ukraine

2013 | Odessa school. Tradition and Currency / Art Arsenal, Kyiv, Ukraine
2012 | Yellow giants / Odessa Fine Art Museum, Odessa, Ukraine

2012 | The Myth. Ukrainian Baroque / National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

2012 | Contemporary Ukrainian artists / YermilovCentre, Kharkov, Ukraine
2011 | Independent / Art Arsenal, Kyiv, Ukraine
2010 | TOP-10 Contemporary Artists of Odessa / Hudpromo Gallery, Odessa, Ukraine

2010 | Star Wars / Korobchinsky Art Centre, Odessa, Ukraine

2010 | Restart / Modern Art Research Institute, Kyiv, Ukraine

2010 | Painting of the 60’s – 90’s from the Soviart Collection / Soviart, Kyiv, Ukraine
2009 | Restart / Marine Art Terminal, Odessa, Ukraine

2009 | Art Kyiv Contemporary / Ukrainian House, Kyiv, Ukraine

2009 | Ukrainian New Wave / National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
2008 | Odessa Contemporary Art / The Museum of Odessa Modern Art, Odessa, Ukraine

2008 | Exhibition dedicated to the 70th anniversary of National Artists Union of Ukraine / Central Artists House, Kyiv, Ukraine 

2004 | Goodbye, Weapons / Art Arsenal, Kyiv, Ukraine
2003 | First Collection / Central Artists House, Kyiv, Ukraine

2000 | Partial Eclipse / French Cultural Center, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

2000 | Positive Reaction / Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern Art, Odessa, Ukraine 

1999 | Pinakothek / Ukrainian House, Kyiv, Ukraine

1998 | Month of Photography / Bratislava, Slovakia

1998 | Out-of-Graphics / Odessa Fine Art Museum, Odessa, Ukraine

1998 | Coldness Academy / Odessa Fine Art Museum, Odessa, Ukraine

1998 | Sides / Karas Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine 

1998 | Two days and two nights / Contemporary Music Festival, Odessa, Ukraine

1998 | All-Ukrainian Youth Exhibition / Central Artists House, Kyiv, Ukraine 

1997 | Photosynthesis / Exhibitions directorate of the National Artists Union of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

1996 | Phantom opera / Young Spectator Theater, Odessa, Ukraine

1996 | Jam Look / Contemporary Art Center, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine

1996 | Golden Section / Applicants Exhibition for the title “Best Artist of 1996”, Ukrainian House, Kyiv, Ukraine

1996 | Commodity Fetishism / Ukrainian House, Kyiv, Ukraine

1996 | Naked Dream / Blanc Art Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine 

1996 | Family Album / Contemporary Art Center, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine

1996 | Synthetic Art Advertising / Karas Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine

1996 | Batiscaf-1 / International Symposium / Sailors Palace, Odessa, Ukraine

1996 | ART Festival Participant / Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern Art, Odessa, Ukraine 

1996 | Two Days and Two Nights / Contemporary Music Festival, Odessa, Ukraine

1995 | Dr. Frankenstein’s study / Scientists House, Odessa, Ukraine

1995 | Blood test / Exhibitions directorate of the National Artists Union of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine 

1995 | Kandinsky Syndrome / Local History Museum, Odessa, Ukraine

1995 | Two Days and Two Nights / Tirs Contemporary Art Center, Odessa, Ukraine

1994 | Free Zone / Odessa Fine Art Museum, Odessa, Ukraine
1994 | Cultural Revolution Space/ Ukrainian House, Kyiv, Ukraine

1994 | Terrible – Amorous / Tirs Contemporary Art Center, Odessa, Ukraine

1994 | Traditions Continuation / Odessa Fine Art Museum, Odessa, Ukraine

1994 | Lux ex Tenebris / Tirs Contemporary Art Center, Odessa, Ukraine

1993 | Grafik aus Odessa / Municipal Gallery, Rosenheim, Germany

1993 | Random Exhibition / Tirs Contemporary Art Center, Odessa, Ukraine

1993 | Europe Steppes / Ujazdowski Castle Contemporary Art Center, Warsaw, Poland
1993 | Diaspora / Central Artists House, Moscow, Russia

1991 | Kunst aus Odessa / Galerie im Alten Rathaus, Prien am Chiemsee, Germany

1991 | The Glory and Modernity of Odessa / Yokohama, Japan

1991 | Ukrainian Pictorial Art of the ХХ century / National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv, USSR

1990 | Babylon / Central Youth Palace, Moscow, USSR

1990 | After Modernism – 2 / Odessa Fine Art Museum, Odessa, USSR

1990 | Avec Cezanne, avec Van Gogh pour la montagne Sant Victore… / Marseille, France

1990 | Soviart. Three generations of Ukrainian pictorial art of the 60-80s / Odense, Denmark

1990 | Soviart. Three generations of Ukrainian pictorial art of the 60-80s / Commerce and industry chamber, Kyiv, USSR

1989 | After Modernism / Odessa Fine Art Museum, Odessa, USSR

1989 | New Figures / Literary Museum, Odessa, USSR

1988 | All-Union Young Artists Exhibition / Manezh, Moscow, USSR

1973 – 1989 | Participant of regional, republican, all-Union, foreign exhibitions.

Museum Collections:

• Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University (New Jersey, United States)
• Udmurt Republican Fine Arts Museum (Izhevsk, Russia)
• Museum of Modern Art of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine)
• Odesa Fine Arts Museum (Odessa, Ukraine)
• The Museum of Odessa Modern Art (Odessa, Ukraine)
• Nikanor Onatsky Regional Art Museum (Sumy, Ukraine)
• Chernihov Regional Art Museum (Chernihov, Ukraine)
• Ministry of Culture of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine)
• Exhibitions directorate of the National Artists Union of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine)
• Zaporozhye Regional Art Museum (Zaporozhye, Ukraine)
• Cherkasy Regional Art Museum (Cherkasy, Ukraine)
• Museum of Contemporary Ukrainian Art Korsakiv (Lutsk, Ukraine)

William C. Hook – General Bio 2023
The American landscape is William Hook’s inspiration.  Large skies, low horizons, distant mountains and textured foregrounds are expressed in his paintings with broad brushstrokes of vivid color.  The magazines Southwest Art, Art of the West, U.S. Art, American Artist, and Focus Santa Fe have featured Hook’s work in cover articles, and the book, Leading the West by Donald Hagerty, references William Hook as one of the notable influences on the western art scene.  In addition, publishers Harper-Collins and North Light have included his work in numerous books written about the contemporary art process in Europe and America. 

William Hook’s background in art began at home.  It was through the influence of his father and grandmother, a professional photographer and architect respectively, that art became second nature to him.  Other family members were art historian Bainbridge Bunting, prominent Italian painters Gino and Bertha Venanzi, as well as Pulitzer Prize winning author, Willa Cather.  When the discussion of art arose at the Hook household, there was never a lack of opinions and interests.  “I was always encouraged to try new media, and that is one reason why I still paint in acrylic. My grandmother would find materials in art stores or would have read about a newly developed medium and I would be the art guinea pig”.

After having attended classes at the Kansas City Art Institute, Hook left his hometown of Kansas City to earn a BFA cum laude at the University of New Mexico.  Hook went on to complete his formal education at the Universita Per Straniere (Perugia, Italy) and the Art Center College of Design (Los Angeles, CA).  The following 15 years spent as an advertising art director in Los Angeles and Denver paved the way for a disciplined painting career. It was his time spent in New Mexico where the scenery made an indelible impression on the aspiring artist that led him to return to make it his home and frequent subject.  “I have painted all over the United States and Europe and continue to find New Mexico at the center of my work”. 

Hook has painted professionally for over 40 years. When he is not painting plein air on the California Coast, in the Rocky Mountains, or the desert Southwest, he paints out of his studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  

Throughout his career, Hook has received numerous awards for his work including: Windows to the Divine, Colorado Invitational – Artist of the Year (2014); Friends of Western Art – Artist of the Year (2013); Carmel Plein Air Festival – Best Local Artist (2003) & Honorable Mention (2002); National Academy of Design – Acrylic Artist of the Year (1996); “Covering the West” Southwest Art Magazine – Best of the Southwest (1996); National Parks “Arts for the Parks” – Best Landscape (1993).

His artwork is included in several permanent museum collections including the Denver Art Museum, the Tacoma Art Museum, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the Forbes Museum, and found in the following notable private and corporate collections:

• AOL/Time Warner – New York, NY
• Texaco World Headquarters – New York, NY 
• Bank of Ireland – Dublin, Ireland 
• Chevron Corporation – San Francisco, CA
• Mr. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – retired professional basketball player
• Mr. Bruce V. Rauner – Governor of Illinois
• Mr. Christopher Forbes – Vice Chairman, Forbes Publishing Company
• In addition, Hook’s work is featured in prints for the New Mexico Symphony, Music from Angel Fire, and the Santa Fe Opera.
• In 2014, William Cather Hook – A Retrospective, a 244 page compendium of his artwork was published.  
• In 2016, Hook received an honorary doctorate degree following his delivery of the commencement address to the 2016 graduating class at William-Woods University.
  

“My passion for painting is rooted in my garden.  I strive to translate my excitement about the experience of growth, light, and translucent colors from the earth to my canvas.  Nature has always spoken to me whether it is the rushing of a waterfall or the burst of new green in the Spring. I am awed by the beauty around me and I love to share my vision through my paintings.”

In 2001 Kathy was invited to join a group of painters under the tutelage of the renowned artist, Richard Schmid.  This opportunity renewed and revitalized her work and began a period of intense focus and rapid growth.  Painting for these last 10 years with Schmid, his wife Nancy Guzik, and the group which has become known as the Putney Painters has provided invaluable support and inspiration.   

The vision that she bestows on us with every brush stroke comes from a lifetime of intimate contact with nature.  Along with her passion for nature and the interconnectedness of the natural world she is also an avid gardener and spends many pleasurable hours close to the flowers that she paints so magnificently.  This close contact with her favorite subject provides her with not just a structural knowledge of flowers but a true love for the flowers, weeds, dirt and detritus of a natural, healthy garden. 

Kathy believes in painting from life whenever possible and carries her paints on her frequent travels.   While she believes that a well trained artist is able to paint anything skillfully, she has found that the intensity and emotion in her painting flows from her love of her subjects, whether still life, garden, figure, or the intimate landscape.
Kathy says, “I view the world with a painter’s eye, finding paintings in all of my everyday experiences and travels.”


AFFILIATIONS:

National Arts Club, NYC – Exhibiting Artist Member
– Painting selected for Permanent Collection
Salmagundi Club, NYC- Artist Member
Oil Painters of America – Signature Member
Allied Artists of America – Signature Member
Connecticut Watercolor Society – Signature Member
Putney Painters, Putney Vermont – Charter Member
Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters

RECENT AWARDS:

2018           Third Place Award – National Arts Club Exhibiting Artist Member Show
2017           President’s Award – National Arts Club Exhibiting Artist Member Show
2017           1^st Place Still Life – Salmagundi Club, Still Life in Color Show 
2015           Gamblin Oil Award for Landscape – Salmagundi Club 131^st Members show
2014        Oil Painter of America National Juried Exhibition
              – Best Signature Member Award of Excellence
2013        Salmagundi Club, John N. Lewis Memorial Award, Top Award, Nov 2013
2013           Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition – 
                   Impressionist Award of Excellence
2013          Art Renewal Center Salon Competition – Finalist Landscape Category
                          2012 – Finalist Animal Category 
2012           Western Art Collector Award of Excellence – Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters
                   Paint Out and Show, Jackson Hole, WY
2012          Salmagundi Club – President’s Award – Summer Show
2012          Jury’s Top 50 – Salon International 2012, Intl Museum of Contemporary Masters
                  of Fine Art, Greenhouse Gallery
2012          National Arts Club Members Show – House of Hydenryk Award
2012          Salmagundi Club – Herbert L. & R. Harmer Smith SCNY Award
2011          National Arts Club Members Show – President’s Award
2010          American Art Invitational – Saks Galleries Southwest Art Magazine    Award of Excellence 
2010          Alden Bryan Memorial Prize (First Prize) for a Traditional Landscape in Oil – Salmagundi Club Member Show
2010          Margery Soroka Memorial Award (First Prize) Salmagundi Club – Summer show 
2010          Fine Art Views Online Exhibition – First Prize
2010          RayMar Art Competition –  July Finalist
2009          Bayonet Farm Annual Plein Air Competition – First Prize
2009          Nomadas del Arte – Award of Merit
2007          National Arts Club – Portrait Award, EAM Show
2006          Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club John Manship Landscape Award
2006          National Arts Club Annual Online Exhibition – Peoples Choice Award
2006          International Artist Magazine Floral and Garden Competition – Finalist
2005          National Arts Club Annual Online Exhibition – Peoples Choice Award 
2004          Hudson Valley Art Association Rayma Spaulding Award for Landscape
2004          International Artist Magazine Floral Competition – Finalist 2 times 
2003          Connecticut Watercolor Society Esther Fay Memorial Award
2003          International Artist Magazine Floral Competition – Finalist 
2003          National Arts Club Annual Online Exhibition – President’s Award
2000          National Arts Club EAM Show – House of Heydenryk Award


SELECTED EXHIBITIONS – SINCE 2002:

2014, ’08, ’10, 13   Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition
2013                      Greenhouse Gallery – Two person show “Beyond the Still”
2013, 2012            Art Renewal Center Salon Competition
2012                      American Masters Invitational, Salmagundi Club
2012                      Salon International 2012 – Greenhouse Gallery
2012                      Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art 2012 – Legacy Gallery
2012                      Miller Gallery – Contemporary Impressionism Invitational
2012                      Artists for the New Century – Bennington Center for the Arts
2012                      Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters – Grand Teton NP
2012-2008            Settlers West (Tucson, AZ) Annual Invitational Miniature Show
2011-2012            Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art – Legacy Gallery 
2010-2012            American Art Invitational – Saks Galleries – Award of Excellence
2010                      Acadia Invitational – Argosy Gallery, Bar Harbor, ME
2010                      Salmagundi Club Member’s Show – First Prize
2009                      Fine Art Views – Dec. ’09 Competition – Best of Show
2009-2012            Windows to the Divine, Evergreen, CO, Invited Guest Artist
2009                      Bayonet Farm Annual Plein Air Competition
2009 & 2005         Solo Show – National Arts Club, NYC
2008                      Lyme Art Association Annual Landscape Show – Guest Artist
2009-2008            Nomadas Del Arte – Invitational Plein Air Exhibition
2010                     Nomadas Del Arte – Keystone Artist
2011-2006            Telluride Plein Air – 1 of 30 artists accepted
2007                     Women Artists of the West – Guest Artist
2007                     Butler Museum – 71st Annual National Midyear Exhibit
2007                     Connecticut Watercolor Society – CWS Award Winners   Invitational 
    2008-2006            Richard Schmid Invitational Fine Art Auction – Ft. Collins, CO 
    2007                      Exhibiting Artist Member Show National Arts Club – Portrait Award
2006 & 2003        Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club
2006                     Allied Artists of America
2006                     Arts for the Parks Top 200 Show
2005                     Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club
2005                     ROAR Exhibition – Aldrich Museum 
2004                     Arts for the Parks  Top 100 National Touring Show
2004                     Hudson Valley Art Association 
2013-2001            Exhibiting Artist Member Show, National Arts Club, NYC
2002                     Lyme Art Association – Art of New England

ARTICLES / FEATURES: 

Summer 2014 edition Only Magazine, Nantucket
Plein Air magazine – Feature Article July 2014
Southwest Art Feature Article – “Drawn to the Garden”  2013
American Art Collector –  “From Bud to Bloom” – March 2012
Southwest Art – “Petal Pushers” – May 2012
American Artist Studios 2012
American Artist – Feature Article – Jul/Aug 2011
Art of the West – Feature Article – May/Jun 2011
Fine Art Connoisseur – Artists Making Their Mark – May/Jun 2011
American Artist – Nov. 2010
Southwest Art Magazine – Artist to Watch, Aug. 2010
American Art Collector – Artist Focus, April, 2009
Art & Antiques Magazine – Spring 2008
International Artist – Feature Article  – Jan. 2007 issue
International Artist – How did you paint that?
-Favorite Subject – 2005
-Still Life & Florals – 2004
-Floral & Garden – 2004
-Seascapes, Rivers & Lakes – 2004 
American Artist Magazine & Website – July 2003