September 15 marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Ivanovich Bazilevsky, a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, who made a significant contribution to the development of contemporary visual arts in Ukraine during his creative career. The artist worked in the fields of painting, graphic art, sculpture, and decorative and applied art.
Ivan Ivanovich Bazilevsky was born on September 15, 1935, on the Crimean Peninsula in the village of Agibel, now Lugove. The Crimean cultural and historical environment with its bright and unique Cimmerian school of painting, as well as his studies at the M. S. Samokish Art School in Simferopol (1951-1956), had a significant influence on the formation of the artist’s personality and artistic style.
Ivan Bazilevsky’s life and work are connected with the Donetsk region. After completing his studies, the artist was sent to Donetsk (Stalino). In 1957, he was transferred to Kramatorsk to strengthen the creative potential of the team of artists at the Donetsk branch of the Art Fund of Ukraine. Ivan Ivanovich was actively involved in public life, serving as chairman of the Art Council and chief artist of Kramatorsk on a voluntary basis. He was repeatedly elected to the board of the Donetsk branch of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine and was also elected as a delegate to the congresses of artists of Ukraine.
With the artist’s participation, the artistic and architectural reconstruction of objects in Kramatorsk took place, a significant number of memorial plaques and monuments to prominent figures were installed, in particular to T. G. Shevchenko (2008), and a general reconstruction of the monument to the People’s Artist of the Ukrainian SSR L. Bykov (2012) was carried out. Sculptures by Ivan Bazilevsky have also been installed in Kyiv and Donetsk.
Over the years of his active creative work, Bazilevsky has created more than four thousand works and held more than 100 exhibitions in Ukraine and abroad, including 25 solo exhibitions in Germany and Egypt. Plein air painting played an important role in the artist’s work (Svyatogorye, Crimea, the House of Creativity in Sednev, Egypt, Germany). Svyatogorye scenes in the artist’s work stand out among his other paintings. Ivan Bazilevsky said: «Svyatogorye is a unique place, filled with beautiful and boundless opportunities for artists to enrich their work with spiritual and emotional energy.»
Ivan Ivanovich’s works are in museum and private collections in Ukraine and 18 other countries. His work has left a bright mark on the cultural life of Donetsk Oblast and all of Ukraine, and the artist’s works continue to inspire viewers with their strength of spirit, love for their native land, and sincerity of artistic vision.
On September 10, 2024, Ivan Ivanovich Bazilevsky passed away, leaving behind a rich artistic legacy and fond memories among his colleagues, students, and admirers.
