Zoya Lisovska-Nyzhankivska. 1940s. Central State Audiovisual and Electronic Archive
Zoya Lisovska holds a distinctly defined place in modern Ukrainian art and has made a valuable and original contribution to the visual arts of the Ukrainian diaspora
Ivan Kayvan, art critic
Zoya Lisovska-Nyzhankivska is a Ukrainian graphic artist and illustrator whose work combines European artistic trends with Ukrainian national traditions.
She was born on April 14, 1927, in Lviv, to the family of renowned graphic artist Robert Lisovskyi and Ukraine’s composer Stefania Turkewich. Zoya took her first artistic steps as a child, when she created a handwritten magazine together with her friend, future writer Vira Vovk.
In her youth, Zoya’s family was forced to emigrate, fleeing Soviet repressions first to Dresden, Germany, and later to Austria. Zoya received her school education at gymnasiums in Dresden and Vienna. In 1947, she enrolled at the Academy of Arts in London, where she received a National Diploma in Design and a silver medal for book illustration. The artist illustrated works by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, Lesya Ukrainka, and Thornton Wilder. Thanks to a three-year scholarship, she continued her studies at the Academy of Arts in Rome, where she mastered the techniques of fresco, enamel, mosaic, and ceramics under the guidance of Roberto Melli.
Since 1955, Zoya has lived in Geneva, Switzerlands. Her husband was a singer and actor Oleh Nyzhankivsyi. Her daughter, Lada-Ariana Nyzhankivska-Kuks, is an artist and teacher. Zoya works in various techniques: oil, gouache, ink, watercolor. Her variety of genes includes landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and compositions. The artist’s works are characterized by a combination of expressivity and lyricism, often inspired by Italian neo-expressionism and Ukrainian baroque. Her most famous works are “Vechornytsi” (Night party) (1955), “The Mother of God” (1960), “Before the Consecration of Pascas” (1960s), “Rocks over the Sea”, “Blue House”, “Girl from Bukovyna”, “Refugees”, “Lifestyle” (1980).
Lisovska-Nyzhankivska’s exhibitions were held in Munich, Rio de Janeiro, Lviv, and Geneva. Her works are characterized by an exceptional geographical and thematic range: from London docks to Brazilian favelas, from Parisian bridges to Ukrainian villages.
