Prymachenko Art Residence & Museum
Bolotnia (Kyiv Region) is Maria Prymachenko’s native village, where she spent her entire life and which she’d almost never left. Maria’s house has been altered, but it still stands on the site. Some personal belongings of the artist still live there — her easel, paints, bed. The garden is a place where Maria, her family and neighbors spent a lot of time. Here, Maria sometimes gathered local children for creative and drawing sessions. An apple tree, planted by the artist herself, still grows there. So does the viburnum tree next to her window. The lake is full of stories from the artist’s life, Maria herself ordered it to be dug on the plot of land for her grandchildren and family.
Maria Prymachenko’s house and neighboring buildings will be reconstructed to its original appearance by removing the bricks. The walls will be made of clay and wood, the roof — of reeds, just like it was many years ago. Inside, the house will also remain as preserved as possible
HOUSE OF ARTISTS
There will be a separate House of Artists on the territory. This is a place where artists, sculptors, potters, embroiderers, adults and children gather to create and explore Maria’s work. With its architecture, the house encourages you to focus on the inner, to come to yourself, to be in your “center”. A place for creativity, offering a living space for residences and guests who want to stay longer in Maria’s world.
MARIA’S WAY EXHIBITION SPACE
The exhibition space, reminiscent of the wild mane often seen in Maria’s work, presents a series of rotunda bays. Each of them tells about a separate period of the artist’s life. The Maria’s Way building reproduces her steps from childhood to her last moments. In some halls, Maria’s double-sided works are in the center, in others one can sit down and watch digital photos, stories, etc in a circle. Visually, the ascetic building embodies the nature of Maria herself, the architecture hints at the worldview of the artist, invites you to discover it from the inside.
CREENHOUSE AND CAFE
The greenhouse is a pavilion where exotic plants are collected, referring to the mythical flora that adorns the artist’s works. Maria’s world is bright and full of flowers — and this is exactly what you can see at the end of the long house Maria’s Way.The structure of the greenhouse is made of reeds. The large atrium admits natural light from the sky, in unison with how light is conceptualized in the maned building.
There will be also a cafe on the territory, where guests can relax and taste dishes according to Maria’s recipes.
THE PROJECT’S AUTHOR
The architectural project of the new Art Residence and Museum was developed by Victoria Yakusha — an artist, architect, designer and founder of the FAINA design studio and the Yakusha Studio architecture office. Victoria Yakusha is focused on the Ukrainian cultural heritage, the revival of handicrafts that are in danger of disappearing, and the interpretation of the symbols of our ancestors. Her own and her studio’s projects have won a large number of international awards and prizes:
- 2022: award for the best stand in the “Curio section of emerging exhibitors” at the Design Miami/Basel exhibition (Basel, Switzerland) with the exposition “Stepping on Ukrainian soil”.
- 2021: “Esthetics” is the first and only Ukrainian project to win the international Dezeen Awards, “World’s Best Interior 2021” in the Bars & Restaurants category.
- 2019: Ya Vsesvit — shortlist of the Dezeen Awards, TOP-5 best offices in the world.
- 2019 best interior design of offices and cultural spaces of the ArtSpace Award.
- 2019 Victoria Yakusha – designer of the year, Elle Decoration International Design Awards.