Oleksandr Dubovyk’s Artistic Works in Ukrainian Art Historical Discourse

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to analyse the representations of Oleksandr Dubovyk’s works in the Ukrainian art criticism discourse of the second half of the 20th and the early 21st century. Attention is paid to his style evolution and its impact on the development of contemporary art. The research methodology is based on a comprehensive art historical approach that combines historical-cultural, stylistic, and conceptual-analytical analysis of the artist’s works. The scientific novelty of the research is the complex analysis of Oleksandr Dubovyk’s works in the contexts of the contemporary Ukrainian art criticism perspective, which needs the studying in details. The research highlights the evolution of the artist’s style — from early the neo-avant-garde to the mature philosophical symbolism by the analysis of colour schemes, compositional solutions, and fine art techniques. Conclusions. Oleksandr Dubovyk is one of the central figures of Ukrainian unofficial art of the second half of the 20th century. His work combines modernist formal codes with postmodern polysemy, integrating local cultural experience into the broader art historical discourse. The analysis of the artist’s stylistic evolution, from geometric structures to ‘suggestive realism’ and philosophical symbolism, demonstrates the intellectualisation of the image and orientation on metaphysical reduction with a great emotional content in his works. The author’s ‘dictionary of signs’ (‘bouquet’, ‘Nike’, ‘prophet’, ‘phantom’, ‘triumphant’, ‘guests’), combined with the serial method of creation, provides a stable mechanism of variable dramaturgy, where colour and format create a structure and determine the rhythm and semantic idea of the compositions. The institutional reception of Dubovyk’s works (the exhibition ‘Pohliad’, 1987), as well as other exhibitions and publications, secured his place in the national canon and integrated him into the international context of nonconformist art studies. The significance of the artist consists in his formal innovations and his affirmation of the ethical autonomy of art, which remains actual for the modern Ukrainian realities. Dubovyk’s art heritage serves the artistic phenomenon as well as a platform for further academic researches, where stylistic analysis, semiotic approaches, and cultural contexts intersect, making his legacy pivotal for understanding the development of Ukrainian art in the second half of the 20th and the early 21st century.