Featured Artist Yuriy Zadorozhnyy

Ukrainian artist Yuriy Zadorozhnyy presents a dynamic collection of mixed media sculpture and collage. View more of his portfolio on his website.

 

 

I’m originally from Eastern Europe, Ukraine, and graduated in architecture from Kiev Art School. Besides architectural and engineering disciplines, I took art classes. I received academic training in drawing, painting, sculpture, composition, and photography.

 

 

I moved to the United States and worked in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC as an architectural designer for more than 20 years. During that time, and especially for the last ten years, I found myself spending more and more  time painting and making collages. Lately I have been creating series in a mixed media collage style. I use different painting mediums for the background, found objects and recycled environmental materials.

 

 

I have been a member of the Maryland Federation of Art. My artworks were exhibited in Annapolis, Bethesda and Rockville. It was selected for multiple exhibitions and received awards. Some of my art pieces are in the collections of my architectural clients and employers.

 

 

Recently my work NY, Big Happenings was shown in HMVC Gallery in New York. My painting Looking for Fun #5 was on a huge display slideshow at Times Square among other artists during a one hour show of exhibition winners.

 

 

My artist’s statement is about improvising with interesting texture, colors, text and found objects in my everyday routine. Old weathered pieces of material may even help me choose the subject of my newest art piece. It often comes spontaneously. I start making a preliminary layout without even knowing what the final result will be.

 

 

My best works have all come from improvisation. I blend different patterns together in a background so that people find familiarity in them. These personal qualities and meanings are reflected in the composition.

 

 

During my work in the field of architecture, I often visited the construction sites of revitalization projects in historical downtown developments. Many old and dilapidated fragments and debris were found there, with interesting textures and sometimes text patterns remaining. They were later included in many collage works. It was as if some chose to be the parts of the composition. New life came to the found materials in my art pieces.

 

 

For the last few years, I have implemented more realistic painting methods into my mixed media collages. I have been applying watercolor technique to acrylic painting. I’ve been creating still life composition by applying patterns from paper scraps and found objects. I strive to keep all visual depth of three-dimensional space depicted with some mystic flares.

 

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