MIRTALA PYLYPENKO’S COLLECTION IN THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF OSTROH ACADEMY

Abstract

Special attention in this article is paid to the analysis of art collection of the Ukrainian artist from abroad Mirtala Pylypenko at the Museum of Ostroh Academy. In 1997 the Museum of history of the Ostroh Academy was founded. A great contribution to its development process was made by Ukrainians from abroad. They supported the museum, sent interesting exhibits, and joined in museum projects. Nowadays the museum has valuable art collections, among which sculptures of the well-known Ukrainian artist Mirtala Pylypenko.
Mirtala Pylypenko was born in Ukraine. During World War II she emigrated, and since 1947 she has been living and working in the USA. She graduated from the Boston Museum’s Art School and Tufts University in Boston. Mirtala’s sculptures are not just artworks, but a profound philosophical and original vision of the world. She showed her talent not only in sculpture and art photography, but also in poetry – her poetic collections “Verses”, “Rainbow Bridge”, “Road to Oneself” have been published in various languages. Mirtala received acclaim in the US and Europe in the 1970s – 1980s. Since the early 1990s her works have been known in Ukraine, where the artist held a series of solo exhibits and presentations. 
Mirtala presented one collection of her works to the National University of Ostroh Academy. Now it is one of the most valuable collections in the university museum. As a sculptor with a long exhibiting career, Mirtala has combined images of her sculptures with her poems, creating a single whole, which is greater than its parts. Mirtala’s collection of sculptures is monumental, philosophic and gracious. However, at the same time, it is sunny and brings back the life-asserting symbols of eternal space and time. The artist has spent most of her life across the ocean (in the USA), but her soul remains tied to Ukraine.
Mirtala Pylypenko is an extraordinary figure in the Ukrainian art. And now, many generations of university students have an opportunity to get acquainted with her unique talent. It is important that sooner or later, Ukraine reveals its artists. Therefore, the museum tries to return and represent the Ukrainian diaspora art and history in museum collections in order to create a single Ukrainian cultural space.