UFDA's Collection Grows: Explore New Additions by Melnyk, Topolian, Krasnyi, and Pustovarova

Ukrainian Fund of Digitized Art has recently expanded its open online catalogue with works by four leading Ukrainian artists, including Krystyna Melnyk, Olena Topolian, Dmytro Krasnyi, and Anastasiia Pustovarova. This recent addition includes 25 works digitized in ultra-high quality.

UFDA invites everyone to enjoy these works on our website! 

UFDA has recently added three works by Krystyna Melnyk, including The Wound (5), Olia, and Nes.

The artist, born in Melitopol, Ukraine, in 1993, works with concepts such as the classical and the sacred through imagery. Her creative method is an attempt to find an approach to experiencing the sacred.

Krystyna studied at the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture (2014-2018) and attended the Contemporary Art Course at the Kyiv Academy of Media Arts.

Inspired and influenced by Georges Bataille and particularly his text "Histoire de l'œil", the artist seeks to convey a sense of the sacred through the idea of the suffering body, as described by the philosopher. Melnyk engages with the world of sacred feelings not only metaphysically: the artist incorporates levkas and oil into her works. Traditionally used in iconography, these materials provide greater durability to the pieces, which often require extended periods to create.

Ukrainian Fund of Digitized Art is proud to add six more works by Olena Topolian, including Glade, Sea, Distant View, Model, Figure, and Soil. 

Olena Topolian is known for her expressive works exploring the human body and its connection to the world. She was born in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine, in 1998, and studied at the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in Kyiv from 2016 to 2023.

The artist uses various mediums, including paintings, drawings, and sculptures. She also engages in constant life drawing practice, which helps her hone her technical skills and refine her approach.

Olena works with an extensive range of materials, such as charcoal, gouache, ink, liners, markers, oil, oil pastels, pen, pencil, sanguine, sepia, souce, and watercolor, as well as different surfaces including canvas, cardboard, hardboard, and paper. This diverse approach allows her to capture the essence of her subjects in ways that are both expressive and precise.

Dmytro Krasnyi works with a diverse range of mediums, including easel graphics, photography, ceramics, installations, and collages, blending traditional techniques with contemporary approaches.

The artist was born in 1985 in Makariv, Kyiv region. A graduate of the National Transport University in Kyiv, he later pursued his passion for art in the graphics studio at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

In his works, the artist addresses the themes of rituals, magical consciousness, and everyday mysticism. At the same time, an important motif in Krasnyi's art practice is memory, its distortion and transformation—this applies to both individual and collective memory. Krasnyi's works engage with these themes in various forms.

UFDA has added three works by Dmytro Krasnyi to its catalogue. 

UFDA has recently added thirteen works by Anastasiia Pustovarova, including Untitled, They Are Burning and Aren't Burning Away, lilacs that have finished blooming, sounds of thunder, the last minutes before the first summer rain, The Legend of a Creature that Struggles to Find a Comfortable Place to Live, Sisters, Above the Ground, Roses on the Ground, Girl, and others. 

The artwork of Anastasiia Pustovarova includes numerous paintings, collages, graphics, book illustrations, and photography. She was born in Cherkasy, Ukraine, in 1990, and studied at the Faculty of Book Graphics and Illustration at the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, graduating in 2017.

Pustovarova's art delves into human emotions and states, particularly focusing on fear and love, exploring how these are expressed in both literary and artistic forms. Her practice is rooted in sensory and personal experiences. She frequently incorporates biblical motifs, using sacred symbols, textual quotes, and visual representations of specific biblical images.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Anastasiia Pustovarova has created graphic posters and paintings that reflect the collective fragility of society during times of social upheaval.