Ukrainian Global Symphony is Proud to Introduce our Guest Artist: Elena Kalman
During the performance of Myroslav Skoryk’s Melody, the soaring music will be illuminated by the evocative artwork of Elena Kalman, projected across the backdrop of Orchestra Hall. Her powerful series, Ukraine Defiant, captures the soul of a nation—its resilience, grief, and unyielding hope—through vibrant color and striking form. As the orchestra’s sound swells, Kalman’s images transform the stage into a living canvas of courage and beauty, a moving tribute to Ukraine’s spirit that resonates far beyond the music itself.
Elena Kalman:
Elena Kalman is a painter, a creator of public art, and an architect, whose work has been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries throughout the United States. Elena’s bodies of work focus on subjects as diverse as the Russian Revolution of 1917 (Shattered Dreams installation), environmental issues (Unnatural reliefs and Anthropocene installation), pollution (Plastic Paradise) and the inner world of artists (Accidental Paintings and Upward). She is currently working on a series of paintings dedicated to Russian invasion of Ukraine (Ukraine Defiant). This is especially important theme for Kalman as she was born and raised in Kiev.
Elena is also the co-creator, along with fellow artist Susan Hoffman Fishman, of two large-scale, community-based, interactive public art projects: The Wave, a national installation which addresses our mutual need for and interdependence on water, and Home, which calls attention to homelessness and the ongoing need for affordable housing in our cities and states. The Wave has been installed in 23 museums, galleries, parks, festivals and schools in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maryland. For more information on The Wave, see www.make-a-wave.org.
Elena received her Master of Architecture degree from the Moscow Architecture Institute, the birthplace of Russian Constructivism, and her undergraduate degree in art from Kiev Art Institute. She immigrated to the United States in 1979. She is a principal of a Stamford, Connecticut-based, design-oriented architectural firm, Elena Kalman Architects, which she founded in 1988. For more information on Elena’s architectural practice, see www.kalmandesign.com.
Ukraine Defiant
Ukraine invaded, bloodied, trampled and burned
Her fields are plowed with bombs and sown with bones
Her mothers weep, her sky is overcast
She dreams of the future, and she dreams of the past
Her children torn away, uprooted, lost
She fights in spite of pain, in spite of cost
Her enemies predict defeat and doom
But she will win, will live again and bloom!
This series of paintings consists of landscapes devoid of people, rather than of battle scenes and suffering wartime victims. The paintings follow the tradition of descriptive narratives of environs in classical prose which set up the mood. Sad feelings permeate the atmosphere of each of these paintings, but there is hope in them as well.
The title painting, “Ukraine Defiant,” has the proportions of a square. The composition of the painting is circular, though, causing the eye to follow the swirling feathers of fighting birds, the wings of which form the diagonals of the square.
In contrast, all of the other paintings are elongated, with the length of each painting being twice its height. All of these paintings are organized along a diagonal dissecting the entire painting. This compositional device emphasizes the movement inherent in each painting. The paintings are about struggle, about explosions, about fire and destruction. The winds and rains and stormy clouds are present in each of them. There are several obvious symbols interspersed throughout all the paintings, such as flowers, crosses, ravens, and fires.
Kalman uses all sorts of materials to make the surfaces of the paintings dynamic and expressive. Torn pieces of paper, old paintings, fabrics, and plastic trash bags are used for texture. A lot of paint is applied with a palette knife. Brush strokes are gestural and follow movements which are at the heart of every painting. The colors are bold. The intent is to evoke immediate reaction in the viewer. However, there are also small details that only reveal themselves upon close inspection. These add to the understanding of each painting.
Ukraine Defiant. 46”x46” Acrylic and mixed media on paper. 2022
According to an ancient legend, Kyiv was established by three Viking brothers and a sister. The oldest brother’s name was Kyiv, thus the name of the city became Kyiv. The sister’s name was Libid, which means “swan.” In this painting a gentle swan, symbolizing Kyiv, is fighting with a two-headed eagle, which is a symbol of the Russian Empire.