The House of Ukrainian Polina Raiko

 

"Polina Raiko (May 15, 1928 – January 15, 2004) is a Ukrainian self-taught artist in the style of naive painting. Polina Raiko had had a stressful life. The woman survived the death of her daughter in a car accident, the death of her husband, and the several years of beatings from her own son. When the son was sentenced to a prison colony, Polina Raiko began to paint on the walls of the empty house in the age of 69. She had spent almost her entire pension on paint until her death in 2004. Polina Raiko had no art education. The artist’s imagery combines Christian, Soviet, and pagan symbols. With simple colors she painted her own house, the summer kitchen, the gates, the fences, and garage doors, portraying her own life, the lives of her relatives and pets, pictures of nature. After the death of Polina Raiko, her works of art became a subject of interest among art lovers. In 2005, Totem Center for Youth Initiatives published a catalog of Raiko’s works entitled The Road to Heaven. Nadia Koshman created the documentary Heaven in 2006, which refers to the life and art of Polina Raiko."

By Ivan ANTYPENKO, The Day, Kherson