Panoramas by Andrii Levytskyi

Andrii Levytskyi is a prominent contemporary Ukrainian graphic artist, well known both in Ukraine and abroad, winner of several prestigious international awards for the best works in the field of graphic art. In the early 2000s, the artist actively turned to an unexpected format, creating intaglios elongated horizontally or vertically. These works became some of the most expressive ones in the artist’s work. Five horizontal panoramas (Road to Town, Love Comes in the Town (both 2002), Talking to Myself (2004), Pine Spirit, Dreamscape (both 2005) comprise a kind of mega-series, complete in its mood and design. These are imaginary landscapes in which fantasy architecture is harmoniously combined with beautiful natural motifs, a special place among which belongs to the graphic artist’s favorite trees. They contain numerous musical associations, allusions to personal memories and impressions of the author, which gives them a special sincerity and intimacy. Another horizontal panorama, Railroad (2009), turns out to be closer to the technical works of the artist, marked by the influence of the steampunk style (AVIA, Comets, Flights (all three from 2009), Aerostation (2013), Sailboats-2 series (Bicycle, Scooter, Skates, Fair Wind, Iceboating, all from 2018). However, the technique in the graphics of Levytskyi is never in conflict with nature, does not try to conquer it, let alone pollute or destroy it. Trains, planes and ships of the artist are only an opportunity for a far and exciting journey through various elements — land, air, water, and Sailboats-2 — the author’s artistic projects of vehicles (bicycle, scooter, skates, car, “ice boat”), which move with the help of sails. The vertical scroll Geografica Nova (2007) is full of the romance of sea voyages. The closest to it are the intaglio My Island (2010–2011) and the Sailboats series (Marlin, Sextant, Gull-sea, all from 2017). But in all the panoramas one can undoubtedly pinpoint an original representation of environmental problems, the careful attention to which is felt in all graphic works by Andrii Levytskyi.