Painting towards peace

By Tyme Sisakvanich

Hulevatyi had maintained an interest and passion in art since he was young, graduating from an art school in Ukraine prior to his evacuation last winter. “Since I was in the first grade, I developed, painted, and I really enjoyed it,” he notes. “And since my childhood, I went to the art school in Ukraine, and I really enjoyed it, and so on.”

Once landing in the US, Hulevatui connected with relatives he had never met in New York, and eventually moved to Vancouver, Washington - where he started attending Columbia River High School. Here, he was introduced to art instructor Jason Phelps, who recalls feeling “just excitement” when hearing about his new student, telling CR News that his role in Hulevatyi’s art journey in the US “has just been in facilitating and navigating systems.” 

Phelps, who had worked with the Cave gallery in the past, explained that Hulevatyi was wanting to “be a painter and an artist and be recognized for it”, bringing up the “Politiks” open call to him. At first, Phelps thought that “maybe [Hulevatyi] would get a little hesitant or a little nervous,” but he instead “got very serious” and took the opportunity to shine a light on a different perspective and life he had experienced firsthand. With this decision finalized, Phelps worked with Hulevatyi to sign contracts, communicate with the gallery, and wire the work on the back of the paintings.

All three of Hulevatyi’s paintings took around two months to complete, use oil paint, and are designed with a style closely resembling realism. “No War” shows a young girl wearing a Ukrainian flag, standing on a road close to damaged missiles and looking into the distance where destroyed houses can be seen.

“Looking Through the Pain” presents a large, tearful eye that is placed on a blue-skied, yellow wheatfield shaped like Ukraine. The dark red flowing down from the top shows bleeding, and the black on the bottom represents darkness, both consuming a once peaceful country. The pupil of the eye shows reflections of chapels, symbolizing prayers to end this violence once and for all.

Lastly, “From Peace to War” displays another young girl, wearing traditional Ukrainian clothes and hairpieces looking at two “sides” of life - the left showcases one of peace, tranquility, and light, while the right conveys one of violence, darkness, and war.

“I painted [these] to show that in my country there is a tragedy, a war,” Hulevatyi asserts. “Constant anxieties and fights in my country worried me a lot, and it was very scary. I just wanted [to demonstrate] that the war is a terrible thing, it’s a real tragedy for everyone in our country.