Introduction

Vasiliy Ryabchenko (born 1954 in Odessa, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian painter, graphic artist, photographer, author of objects and installations. One of the key artists in contemporary Ukrainian art and the New Ukrainian Wave. Vasiliy Ryabchenko was one of the first in Ukraine to start working in the installation genre. Since the early 1970s, the artist has also actively experimented with photography, which, subsequently, he uses in installations and collages, and also uses them as a material for paintings and creating digital graphics. He is also a founder of the Art Laboratory creative association.

Vasiliy Ryabchenko's works are distinguished by a synthesis of Western and Eastern approaches to pictorial art. His style effortlessly blends elements of English aristocratic asceticism with the fluidity of a Chinese "Dance of the Brush," achieving a balance between restraint and freedom. In the latter half of the 1980s, Ryabchenko embraced transavantgarde ideas. While the Ukrainian transavantgarde generally leaned toward Baroque aesthetics, Ryabchenko's work during this period is best described as a "new Rococo." His approach is marked by aesthetic refinement and playful virtuosity. He often takes on the role of a skilled decorator, where virtuosity itself becomes an ideology.