Vasil Kadar studied at the Art College named by Adalbert Erdeli, focusing on Artistic Metal Working from 2008 to 2012. He continued his studies at the Transcarpathian Art Institute, where he earned a Master's Degree in the same field from 2012 to 2015. In 2014, Vasil joined the youth association of the Transcarpathian Nation Artists Union of Ukraine.
How did you get into art?
I’m interested in arts from early childhood and studied in the Art School in Khust. Then I finished the Art College named by Adalbert Erdeli and the Transcarpathian Art Institute. Despite the fact that my main specialty was artistic metal working, I was much more interested in the painting medium. I participated in the majority of plein-airs receiving more and more experience in this medium. Step by step it turned into who I am today.
How would you describe your style? What makes your work special?
I’m never interested in deciding or explaining my own style. I actively works on my projects and moves on and on developing my own art. However, in my opinion, it’s for the art critics to define and formulate the style of my works and what makes me unique.
As an artist, I´m intrigued by the phenomenon of painting myself. There is no attempt to bring up critical social themes or play with concepts in the artwork. For me, the importance lies in the fact of painting, where the artist dissolves into the colors, and paints transform into a pictorial surface free from symbolic traps. The surface becomes a time illusion in the vast expanse of pure painting, revealing no outer sense or history but providing the opportunity to feel the merging of the work and the viewer into one stream of color. The ultimate goal is to achieve a subtle play of textures, materials, and paints that produce significant vibrations and make color more expressive and realistic in the slow time flow. In this collaborative process, gesture, gaze, surface, and viewer focus on the creation and perception of the artwork.
I strives to create art that is not temporary or ephemeral but rather, a thing that doesn’t need any interpretation. The aim is to invoke the feeling of pause; not a pause itself, but the very things that shine through it. The use of earth, hay, and dried flowers in the artist's paintings is an act of homage to the traditional Ukrainian house called ‘mazanka’. This act signifies a kind of archaism, a return to folk tradition through the prism of contemporary art.
I´m deeply aware that every event, word, emotion, action, and experience affects individuals in ways that are often hidden from view. These experiences leave incompletely healed traces and wounds that manifest themselves physically in various forms, causing a feeling of a torn skin that is overgrown with earth or sprouts with flowers.
As an artist, there is a seeking to capture the pure reflection of these non-visual things through the accumulated experience, emotions, and sensations that come with them. In doing so, the paintings create a pause, a moment of reflection that allows viewers to connect with their own experiences in a profound and meaningful way.
How do you go about developing your work?
My paintings are a silent manifesto of immersion in the ether of infinite space/time through the prism of endless love for the native land. There is a seeking to capture the essence of what it means to be human, to experience the world in all its beauty and pain, and to connect with others in a deep and meaningful way. In doing so, I hopes to create a sense of harmony and understanding that transcends cultural and historical boundaries, uniting everyone in their shared human experience.
Who or what influences you?
From Rembrandt to Monet, from Monet to Rothko and Pollock, to contemporary non-object art: all this art is interconnected as a one art flow and deeply influences me.
Make us curious. What are you planning to do next?
It’s very difficult to plan the future because of the Russian invasion into Ukraine. Military actions impact my life a lot and you can never say what happens tomorrow. I highly hopes that I will be able to continue my artistic path and create the projects I have in mind.
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