Pelageya (Polina) Andreevna Raiko (Soldatova's maiden name; May 15, 1928 , Tsyurupinsk , Kherson region , Ukrainian SSR , USSR - January 15, 2004 , Tsyurupinsk, Kherson region, Ukraine) - Ukrainian artist who worked in the style of naive art .
| Polina Andreevna Raiko | |
|---|---|
| Ukrainian Polina Andriyivna Raiko | |
| Birth name | Polina Andreevna Soldatova |
| Date of Birth | May 15, 1928 |
| Place of Birth | Tsyurupinsk , Ukrainian SSR |
| Date of death | January 15, 2004 (75 years old) |
| A place of death | Tsyurupinsk , Ukraine |
| Citizenship |  USSR →  Ukraine |
| Style | naive |
Painting P.Raiko stands in one row with such Ukrainian artists as: Maria Primachenko , Tatyana Pata , Ganna Sobachko-Shostak .
Biography
Having no art education, at the age of 69 she began to draw. The artist’s figurative system combined Christian, Soviet and pagan symbols. She painted her house, summer kitchen, gates, fences and garage doors using simple and cheap paints - PF enamel, where she reproduced her biography, her relatives, pets, and nature's paintings. She spent almost all her meager pension on paints and brushes.
After the death of the artist, her house was in danger of destruction, since the heirs were not interested in preserving it. Public activists and artists launched a campaign to preserve it. As a result, the house was bought by spouses, fans of art, from Canada - with the goal of creating a museum, but soon lost interest in it. Now the house is preserved thanks to the efforts of Kherson activists, at their request local women look after the house. Time is inexorable, and walls began to crack in the house, peeling paint. The question of preserving the original murals at home remains open.
In 2005 , the Center for Cultural Development "Totem" (Kherson) published a catalog of Pauline Raiko's paintings "Road to Paradise" ( Ukrainian Road to Paradise ). 2006 - premiere of the documentary "Paradise", dedicated to the work of P. Raiko. In 2013, the national center of folk culture “ Ivan Gonchar Museum ” organized an expedition to Polina Raiko’s house and announced its readiness to take it under its care, however, the artist’s house is still privately owned and has not been included in the register of cultural heritage of Ukraine.
Museumification of an Art Object
Museumization and popularization of P. Raiko’s heritage is mainly carried out by the Totem Cultural Development Center public organization (Kherson) and the Polina Raiko private charity foundation (Kherson).