Maria Kulikovska
2011
Acrylic and oil paint on textile
The painting, created using acrylic and oil paint is made
on a coverlet that once covered the sofa in the artist’s grandmother’s house in Kerch. This textile bears witness to the artist’s childhood and the passing of her grandmother’s husband, along with other pivotal family events.
The work was completed three years before the artist’s name appeared on a blacklist by the Russian Federation following the occupation of Crimea in 2014. It is the only painting that was rescued and transported from occupied Kerch to Kyiv.
The classical motif reflects the artist’s academic training
as well as Crimea’s ancient heritage. In the 7th–5th centuries BCE, Kerch was known as Panticapaeum. European Renaissance painting drew inspiration from the Classical antiquity and Hellenistic art, and Crimea—historically known as Taurica—was part of the Hellenic world.
The painting was exhibited in Francisco Carolinum Museum (Linz, Austria) and Jøssingfjord Museum (Norway).