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Matienko Maria
“The works were made as part of the ‘Notes’ series. They were made in 2021-2023 during the war and before. The main purpose of these works is to depict and experience in a material form all those emotions that overwhelm. In my works, I reflect on the phenomenon of intermediate states. I am interested in the moment that is intermediate between movements, phenomena or thoughts. That incredibly small period of time that is beyond consciousness, beyond attention, which does not exist but is there. It is illusory but at the same time absolutely real.
Not only the subject matter of the works is important, but also the materials: a ballpoint pen and a grid of office paper, which is taped to the right size. All of this works together to achieve a certain psychological effect. When small strokes add up to a complete picture, when individual sheets are folded into a certain matrix of repeating cells, when large volumes are actually light and almost weightless. All this creates a certain disconnect between understanding and perception. It confronts the viewer with a certain simulacrum.
Why a ballpoint pen? Because I wanted to avoid the pathos of the material. I wanted simplicity, lightness, some other materialisation. I consciously chose the method of slow art, because ballpoint pen graphics are very time-consuming to make. But it gives me the opportunity to think, to concentrate, to go deeper, to experience what I am painting and what I am living at that time. It’s a kind of protest against time and against the requirement to react quickly. All the works are made with ballpoint pens on A4 office paper, which is glued together with tape to a size of 180x127cm. I also use office paper as a background, which is taped together in the same way as the works themselves.”
Maria Matienko was born in 1980 in Kyiv, Ukraine
2003 – graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture (NAAFA), Faculty of Architecture, Kyiv, Ukraine
For 12 years she studied at the studio of Mykola Shkaraputa, a student and close friend of Fedir Krychevskyi.
2007-2008 – internship in Germany and Switzerland. Focused on contemporary abstract painting and organic design.
2013 – joint exhibition at the “Venezia Gallery di Giorgio Ghidoli” within the framework of the Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy.
Since 2014 – participation in the international painting plein airs “Javorna” in Drinice, Slovakia
Since 2015 – regular participation in group exhibitions in “Karas Gallery”, Kyiv, Ukraine
2015 – participation in the international project in “Mythra Gallery”, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
2016 – personal exhibition “Mixed Feelings” in the House of Education and Culture MK, Kyiv, Ukraine
2016 – joint exhibition at Bakerhouse Gallery, Graz, Austria
2016 – publication about the work in the magazine “KultKult”, December 2016, issue No. 4, Kyiv, Ukraine
Since 2017 – regular participation in group exhibitions and happenings of the gallery “Ukrmakrovesvit”, Kyiv, Ukraine
2018 – joint exhibition at Voloshyn Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine
2019 – joint exhibition at Gio Art Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia
2021 – participation in the international annual exhibition NORDART 2021, Büdelsdorf, Germany
2021 – participation in the project “Labyrinths of Discourse”, Institute of Contemporary Art Problems of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
Since 2022 – regular participation in the projects of the White World Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine
2022 – joint exhibition at the Art Space Gallery, Lausanne, Switzerland
Since 2023 – membership in the National Union of Artists of Ukraine
2023 – joint exhibition “BeLive” Volkskundemuseum, Vienna, Austria
2024 – joint exhibition «Ukrainian Diary», National Centre «Ukrainian House», Kyiv, Ukraine
2024 – joint exhibition «Matter Matters», National Centre «Ukrainian House», Kyiv, Ukraine
2024 – participation «International Art Fair of Alternative Art TRYST» , TAM Torrance Art Museum, Los Angeles, USA
The works are in private collections in Ukraine, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, USA, Canada, Great Britain, Portugal.
