Valeria Trubina knows, in our opinion, an intermediate position between naivety and seriousness. Perhaps her poetics can be defined as naive seriousness. Trubina is sometimes ironic. Thus, having fallen into the sin of Savadism, she tried to parody the situation by writing the painting “Decorations of an Unintentional Murder,” depicting Savadov himself tormented by pursuers. But this was rather an exception to the rule. Trubina’s paintings are filled with postmodernist entourage. By the number of painted sphinxes, Medusa-Gorgons, and Corinthian sleep diggers, she undoubtedly takes first place. But, on the other hand, all this resembles Savadov’s paintings, much like Greek myths in the retelling of Korney Chukovsky resemble genuine mythology, while also mixing in a considerable amount of feminine mysticism to all this attribute. Observing some next griffin created by Trubina, you horrify yourself with the thought that, apparently, this was done quite seriously. The intricate and overloaded plot involuntarily recalls the compositions of another Kyiv artist extremely popular in the city at the turn of the century, Wilhelm Kotarbinsky. To be completely honest, Trubina’s painting can be attributed not so much to the “post” category as to the “neo” category. Perhaps “neosymbolism” is the best definition for her. And William Blake, who nourishes her inspiration, is not just a literary preference. Trubina is the Zinaida Gippius of the “Ukrainian wave.” She desires art that is terrible, mysterious, and “profound.” Well, that is exactly the kind of art she creates.
Comment type: Published comment
Author: Kostyantyn Akinscha
Sources: Angels over Ukraine [catalog]
Sources: Akinscha K. A Wreath on the Grave of Ukrainian Postmodernism: Portfolio. Odessa Art of the 1990s. Collection of texts / comp. Mikhailovskaya E., Roitburd A., Rashkovetsky M. – Odessa, 1999. pp. 12-15
